The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey
by Engineer4Ever
Summary: The Sea has many moods, many faces. This is mirrored by its children greatly. The icy seas shift and tide against the shore of a difficult path. Watch as a small ripple becomes a mighty typhoon in the world of monsters, gods, and demigods. Fem!Harry. Hogwarts Arc. Updates every Friday.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey**

**Prologue: Survival**

**Beta: Siegfried01**

**Edited: 11/8/14**

**A/N: Gods, everything is ending!**

**Naruto.**

**Percy.**

**Korra.**

**Season two of RWBY.**

**It honestly makes me cry.**

**So, I decided to counteract this by starting something new~!**

**And what better day to start a Harry Potter fic then on Halloween! Am I right?**

**So please, enjoy it because this one I think is going to be great XD**

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><p>Well, it was official. She was lost. Most really and truly lost. Sighing despondently, she whirled around helplessly, the dropping temperature lending haste to her actions. Squaring her frail shoulders, she soldiered on, striding forwards. Passing an electronics store, the sight of a familiar face stopped her cold.<p>

The girl was short, only just pushing four foot two, if that. Her face, distorted ever so slightly by the glass of the dead television screen, was nevertheless one that could be considered beautiful, in a few years. Currently the high cheekbones and sharp nose were blunted by the presence of baby fat, not much but enough to obscure them nonetheless. A small crimson hoodie helped shield her from the elements and prying eyes both, although a few strands of long jet-black hair peeked out from under the hood as glimpses of two green orbs hid within.

Shaking her head, the girl sighed once more before leaving, her grey sweatpants flashing in and out of the screen.

"Alright, small break," she commented quietly, her voice ringing out in the empty alleyway, revealing to the world her cultured British accent. In light of that, it really wasn't that surprising she was lost. Leaning against the wall, the rough brick making its displeasure known as she slid down to rest on the ground, her lightly battered backpack digging ever so slightly into her back. Fiddling with the laces of her black hi-tops, she allowed herself to catch her breath as clouds of white mist twisted and curled in and out of her sight. Just another sign as to the biting cold.

Peering around the wall, she whipped her head back in and sighed; idly brushing her bangs away where they threatened to fall over her eyes, revealing her tanned skin as well as a simple cuff bracelet made out of green sea glass, and most interestingly a scar imprinted on her forehead. A lightning bolt.

Well, perhaps she could stay, just a little while to catch her breath.

Digging around for a second, she fished out a small white pearl held by a thin leather cord around her neck. The pearl itself was rather plain, not too perfect, nor too deformed. But she grasped it tightly all the same, a habit when stress reared its ugly head. And so she sat for the next few minutes, cradling her pearl, all the while watching as lights flashed and the sounds of boots against the pavement filled her head.

Sucking in a deep breath, she huffed before standing. Ducking back into the crowded streets, her small frame allowing her to weave in and out of the massive bodies that flooded her vision. Her eyes caught a digital clock as she passed by a barber's salon. 20:16. She grimaced. She really needed a place to lay low for the night, lest some monster finds her.

Forcing the rising whimper down, her knuckles whitened. She was not going to die here.

As she ducked around in the crowd, her mind wandered. The beginning of her little Odyssey replaying.

Now, to understand why she was in America, half way around the world to where her accent is from, one must first understand where she was from in the first place.

Right then, now as one may have already figured out, she was from jolly ol' England. Well, the jolly bit was certainly up for debate if you asked her. When asked why the obvious answer would be because she lived with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. "What's so bad about that?" One may ask, well, there were a number of varying reasons.

Her, for lack of a nicer term, horse-necked aunt forced her to do all the chores, from mowing the lawn to washing the car to cleaning the house; had her make them breakfast every day whilst hers was whatever was left, and knowing her cousin even that wasn't very much mind you.

Her aunt's lovely husband, aside from making her mow the lawn for each season and wash his car, also presented her with a few bruises on her person here and there. "To keep you miserable freak in line." Was his reason.

Then there was his sister…a miserable blimp of a woman, she would sic her Rottweiler on her when she came over, like that one time she was forced to hide in a tree all afternoon; she never did get any dinner that day. The next time…well, the next time you'd be happy to know she finally stood up for herself and clubbed the wretched thing in the head with a nearby stone, killing it.

That was the good side of that particular incident, the…not so good side was the punishment. Not that she cared of course. Her resistance to pain had never been better though, to look at the bright side of things.

Unfortunately, not even her beloved cousin gave her any reprieve. One of his favorite games was, well, emulating his father, to be blunt. Both him and all his little friends, including Piers, the jerk. Whenever she tried to fight back she was locked in her room, said room being not a room but a cupboard. Under the stairs to boot.

Unfortunately for her she was nervous and restless in enclosed spaces. Claustrophobic, was what her school nurse said. When she presented this new piece of information to her aunt and uncle they simply laughed before throwing her, quite literally, back into her cupboard.

I'm sure by now you're wondering something along the lines of, "Why would she be living with such horrible, people?" Well, around the time she was a year old, her parents died. Now she didn't know exactly why, her aunt and uncle told her that they were stupid drunks and got into a car accident that she sadly survived, and that she was a mistake and that she was never loved. But she never believed that; she couldn't, for her own sake, although it still hurt to hear that all the time growing up in that hellhole.

On her way back from school one day, which she had problems in as well, she met a nice lady who said she had won a prize. Now, she had never won anything in her life and was quite obviously excited, so she led the woman back to her hellhole and she told her aunt and uncle about the all expenses paid cruise from England to New York and back. Now at first, her aunt and uncle wanted to leave her with the crazy cat lady, but the woman told her that she had won, and thus needed to go, much to their grumbling.

During the trip, she was mainly locked in her cabin, but when she wanted to leave, it was like the ship was listening to her and unlocked its door for her. It was the most fun she had in her life, ever! Games, fishing, swimming, just talking to kids her age without her cousin running them away, it was such fun. As they docked in New York City, the Big Apple they called it, she was awed and loved everything there. It was like she was home or something as she turned eight years old that day.

Then the woman she met gave her something. It was a dagger, in her hands though it was more like a short sword. It was rather plain, but nice. The whole thing was around twelve inches, and its grip was wrapped tightly some light brown leather, she didn't have time to unsheathe it from its jet black leather sheath. No, she was too busy falling off of the dock. Damn woman pushed her!

As she hit the water, she wanted to gasp for air, but it was like she was being dragged down by some invisible force. As she was panicking, her eyes opened. At first she flinched and closed them, but after a moment's thought she realized something, well two things really. One: that she could see clearly underwater, clear as crystal actually.

And two: she was breathing, underwater!

After those two realizations she calmed down exponentially, and had tried to swim back to the surface. Well, tried being the word. One would normally stop at the sight of a large, rainbow-colored horse, it is after all not something you see every day. Well, it wasn't really a horse, just from the waist up, the rest of it was an actual sea horse.

Riding on it was possibly easily the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life, although, considering what her life was like it really wasn't saying very much.

The woman had long hair the color of midnight that rippled and undulated as if one with the water surrounding it and flawless ivory skin. Her bright sea green eyes were matched by the color of her wavy dress.

Despite said incident happening some time ago, she still recalled how it went.

**~Flashback~**

_Rhode Jasmine Potter was not having a good day! And this sudden appearance of a woman riding a rainbow-colored fish-pony-thing was not helping her sanity! Not to mention the fact she was breathing, underwater!_

_"What's going on?" she cried out in frenzy, as the waters seemed to swirl around in her panic._

_As the woman got off of her mount and began to float in the water, her eyes shone with a motherly light, and her smile calmed Rhode's panic._

_"Calm yourself child of my lord." The woman said, her voice caressing Rhode like the soothing waves." I bring you no harm, merely gifts from your father, young hero."_

_Rhode blinked, "Hero? Father? But my dad died, along with my mum in a car accident." Just what was this woman, and a very pretty woman at that, talking about?_

_The woman gave her a small smile, "That would be your step-father, child." She said. She sounded so old, but looked so young, like she wasn't even from this time, but at the same time could fit in perfectly. "After his and your mother's murder, your father, the one whose court I serve, had ones such as my kind, along with our fresh water sisters to watch over you."_

_Rhode blinked and shook her head, her mother and fath-um, step-father were murdered? Her father was still alive and had pretty water women working for him? "What's going on?!" _

_The woman sighed, "Allow me to introduce myself; I am one of the highest in your father's court. I am Thetis, a Nereid."_

_Rhode's eyebrow furrowed in thought, "Aren't those, the um, salt water nymphs from Greek Mythology?" she asked with a cute tilt of her head. The librarian, who also had the same kind of eyes as this woman, told her that when she would help Rhode learn to read. She was dyslexic you see, all the words she tried to read jumbled up in her head. The only language she could read was what the nice lady said was Ancient Greek and taught her to read and write it._

_She also had ADHD, but that was something completely different to this whole situation._

_Thetis, whose name sounded really familiar by the way, smiled, "Indeed, young one." She said, while bringing out a pretty teal colored bracelet made out of sea glass that rippled, as if it in itself was a wave._

_Rhode gulped, okay, so mythical water spirits were real, nothing to freak out about, surely. "And my father?" she asked, well begged, as thoughts plagued her mind. Like why didn't he come for her? Why didn't he raise her? Why did he leave her with her terrible relatives? Didn't he love her? She thought while blinking away some stray tears that she couldn't see in the water._

_"Your father is the Lord of the Sea, Poseidon."_

_Okay, yeah, now time to freak out._

_"That's bullshit." She answered, remembering the swear word she heard from her uncle._

_Thetis frowned at her, "Young lady, you should not speak with such foul language." She scolded, sounding oddly like one of the mothers she had heard on the cruise._

_Rhode ducked her head, "Sorry." She mumbled, like she always did when she was scolded by her aunt for doing something freaky._

_"You are a demigoddess, child. In fact, the first demigoddess Lord Poseidon has sired in ages." The salt water nymph said to the young child._

_Rhode's face shot up, looking surprised. She remembered hearing a lot of stories from the nice librarian about the sea god, he was in most of the stories she heard._

_"This, okay water women are real, but gods? Isn't that, I don't know, stories? Like something to explain a bad storm…but you're a Nereid, also a story…my head hurts." Rhode said while slapping her cheeks, "Got to be a dream. Wake up stupid Rhode, wake up!"_

_Thetis seemed to be amused by this, making Rhode scowl. The girl hated to be the butt of the joke, she was treated like one all her life._

_"The gods hold a law young hero." She said to Rhode, her voice taking on a sad tone, "A godly parent may not raise their child. But do not despair. Know that your father does love you, very much so." Thetis assured kindly. That made hope bubble up in Rhode's chest as Thetis pulled out a leather necklace, at the end of it was a pure white pearl, "A birthday gift along with a message, 'With love, to my Little Pearl'." The water nymph said handing it to Rhode's free hand._

_The demigoddess took the leather necklace with a shaky hand, never getting a gift before. She bit her lip as she felt tears well in her eyes and put it on. As she looked at the gleaming pearl floating around her neck, she had a teary smile on her face._

_"While the pearl is just a gift for the sake of your birth child, this, is the truth gift. One that will no doubt protect you as it had the previous owner during his challenges until his fall." Thetis said, sadness lacing her tone heavily as the bracelet turned into a big circular shield, no, calling this a mere shield was like calling the Mona Lisa a pre-k doodle._

_The shield was made out of a strange metal, similar to the color of bronze Rhode had seen in pictures at the library. The metal almost seemed to hum and glow, although in an instant it stopped, and so Rhode dismissed it as a trick of the light. On its face were beautiful engravings forming a flowing spiral, peering closer, Rhode could have sworn she had seen a story like the one depicted on the shield before._

_"This is the shield of my son, Achilles."_

_And then it hit Rhode, like lightning going through her system as she gaped, "That Achilles, the um, army killer guy? This is, wow…can I touch it?" she asked gushing, oh she loved hearing about the Battle of Troy. Achilles being her favorite of the characters, well now, real person to hear about since he was super strong and did what he wanted._

_Wait, her son? Well that explained why Thetis felt so motherly, she was one of the most protective mother's in the myths…can you even call them myths now? Bah, she was getting side-tracked, stupid ADHD._

_"Why? I gift it to you. It is yours to keep."_

_"…I feel faintish." Rhode said, fanning herself, even when she was in the cool ocean. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even feel wet, weird. Grr, again, side-tracked!_

_Thetis seemed smile at that, before it fell into a sad one, "After my son's death, I had taken his shield to remember him, but after the years passed, I had given it to Lord Poseidon to hold on for as it was too painful to even see it." She said with her chin a little high, "After my lord had asked if he could gift it to one of his children, I gave him my approval as long as I would be the one to grant it upon its new owner." She said, as the beautiful shield changed into the cuff bracelet once more, "For you." She said, handing it to Rhode._

_The young girl shakily took the famed shield of one of her favorite heroes, "Wow." She said in awe, slipping the bracelet onto her right wrist, tapped it, making the shield appeared locked on her wrist ready to protect her._

_"It will protect you well." She said with a small smile._

_"I, um, thank you very much lady Thetis." The green-eyed child said with an awkward bow of her head. Really, what was she supposed to say to something like this? History was strapped to her little wrist._

_"You are welcome, child, but now I must leave." Thetis said, "And you must survive."_

_"Survive?" Rhode asked, shaking out of her awe, "I don't understand?"_

_"The monsters my dear, the monsters are just as much alive as we continue to be." Thetis said in a soft, but stern tone, "You must do what you can to survive, as a child of the gods, they will hunt you; and will do everything they can to kill you. Only weapons such as that dagger," she said pointing to the blade clenched in her left hand, "and others of celestial bronze may kill them."_

_Panic rose once again in her. Monsters? There were a lot of scary monsters in the stories she had heard. Rhode looked at the woman, wanting to say something, but was halted at her next words._

_"Your father believes in you, child, and we of the sea do as well." She said in kindness as she mounted her rainbow fish-pony, "May the gods watch over you, daughter of the sea. I see great things in your future." She left with a smile on her face as Rhode just floated in the water, who was trying to figure out what to do._

_But, Rhode knew one thing._

_She was free._

**~Flashback end~**

And with that freedom, Rhode took her first brave step.

She ran away.

No more Dursleys, ever again.

After hearing that she wasn't really a Potter, since that was her stepfather's name, she started to use her mother's maiden name of Evans, to feel closer to her and to start fresh in the States. In the following months, she travelled, going from New York to Ohio to Kansas until she reached Arizona.

Over her time travelling, Rhode picked up a few rules for herself, through some trial and error.

First, water was her friend.

It healed her and she could breathe under it. Most times she slept underwater if she could. It made her stronger like you wouldn't believe when she was in it. And as long as she wanted to, she couldn't be wet or anything she touched. Ever see a lighter go off underwater? Didn't think so. But it was tough to learn her powers, she knew she had them, but it was a struggle to figure out how to use them. She ran into a few naiads and they helped her at times if she asked nicely. Rhode was very grateful to them.

Next, ponies. Best animal ever.

She could talk to them and they'd listen to her. Heck in Texas she lead a stampede of them to escape some monsters. They even showed her what plants could be eaten if she was ever out surviving in the wilderness. She even lived on a horse-training ranch for a few weeks, just to get a hot meal when a nice family let her help out. All hail the powers of the pony whisperer! It was going well until a monster attack though, so she had to run away.

Next, she learned how to steal.

She didn't like it, but she needed money. Of course she left the wallets or purses in a lost and found or with a store clerk and only took the cash in them. But she needed new clothes and just buy food in general if she hadn't stolen that. Sometime, if she wanted it enough, a wallet would levitated out of someone's pocket and float into her hands, like magic!

Next, she learned how cruel the world was.

She had seen people lie, cheat, and steal, but what took the cake for her was murder. She was resting behind a dumpster one night and turned to see two guys arguing and then one guy killed the other with a gun, four shots to the chest… She ran away after that. For the next couple of weeks she couldn't sleep either, the scene of the guy getting murdered playing over and over again.

Next, she learned how to run.

She was fine with that, running meant you live longer. She hid most of the time when a monster came about, and only fought on her terms, when she could trick it or get it near water.

Finally, and most importantly, she learned how to fight.

She couldn't run forever, she knew that, eventually a monster would corner her and it was do or die. And so she did do, and she did live. Her shield helped a lot and she was pretty decent with her knife.

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><p>Mount Olympus, home of the Greek Gods. The floating mountain that was secretly anchored to the Empire State building. Not that the general population noticed of course, a floating mountain above the most famous skyscraper in New York wasn't exactly normal. In the Hall of the Gods, where twelve thrones, each unique in their own way, and empty, stood. In the middle of the room was a figure.<p>

The man was tall and built like a mountain, with long jet black hair that just brushed his shoulders. His brilliantly electric blue eyes were riveted on an image in front of him; while his serious and proud, but handsome, face was partially hidden by his neat salt and pepper beard.

Zeus, King of the gods, stared at the misty image of a young girl with jet black hair and sea green eyes who was resting against the side of a dilapidated shack.

The King of the Gods sucked in a deep nasal breath as his eyes narrowed dangerously. The smell of ozone began to permeate the air as a cylindrical object clenched in his hand began to crackle ominously.

"I would honestly still your hand, brother." A heated voice called out as Zeus turned to see his older brother, Poseidon.

He was dressed like a beach goer. Tropical shirt, tanned shorts, and leather sandals. He had jet black hair and a neatly trimmed beard. His sea green eyes that usually twinkled were stormy and dark, you could tell he smiled a lot with the sun crinkles by his eyes, but the king of the sea was anything but smiles at this moment as he held his mighty trident with a scowl on his face.

"You broke our sacred oath, Poseidon." Zeus stated tersely.

The sea god glared at him, and marched up to his younger brother, matching in the imposing godly height. He looked at his daughter, eyes softening for but a moment and waved his hand over the mist image as they hardened once more. The image was changed to a girl with spiky raven hair with electric blue eyes that wore a beaten leather jacket, she was standing outside of some mortal fast food restaurant.

Zeus tensed as Poseidon said, "My, I wonder who that could be?" he questioned in faux curiosity.

"You-!"

"Pheh," Poseidon spat out, his sea green eyes in fury, "God of justice, if there were a god of hypocrisy…" the king of the sea trailed off and glared at his brother, "I honestly thought we were beyond this, brother. Killing mere children."

"The Great Prophecy-"

"And your child is older, is she not?" Poseidon questioned Zeus back, getting narrowed stormy eyes, "Shall we be smiting her as well, my lord?" he asked, venom lacing his words as unknown to the girl in the image, the ground creaked as the water main beneath her started to build up pressure.

Zeus scowled.

"I do not wish to sink to your level, Zeus," Poseidon said chillingly. His powerful fingers clenching his trident as his knuckles whitened, the trident beginning to hiss with power as the air began to grow more humid. As if sensing a challenge, the object in Zeus' hand began to crackle and spark.

"But if you so much as touch my daughter, well, I will not be the only one grieving this night." He slammed the butt of his trident on the marble floor, shaking the Hall of the Gods to prove his point.

Silence reined in the halls until Zeus spoke with a frown.

"Fine then, we agree not to harm our respected children?"

"Agreed."

The gods stared off at one another until Poseidon left in a large twister of salt water, leaving a mess in the Hall of the Gods just to spite his little brother.

Zeus glared at the spot, "Amaltheia."

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><p>These past few days…Rhode had been following a feeling, though they haven't been the best days for her. It had started normally enough, wake up in whatever place she had decided to crash for the night, stretch, and head off. But this time it was that routine, with the addition of "run like hell, monster on my tail."<p>

Ducking into a nearby park, she wondered for a moment what possessed her to do so, it was as if someone was whispering in her head to do so, but there was no voice. Weaving in and out of the trees, she heard a snap, one too big to be a twig. Gulping, she kept going. Making it out of the trees, hope swelled in her. A pond!

She had barely taken a step when the sound of something cutting the air filled her senses. Fudge. Her legs buckled, something crashing against them.

"Oof!"

Grunting, she spun her body to see what had hit her. A large branch. Weren't those things supposed to be stupid?

She heard the damn thing before she could see it. It came crashing out of the trees as it rushed her. Fumbling for her bracelet, she tried to summon it, but was all too slow.

"ARGH!" The pain, oh the blinding pain as her right shoulder and arm were crushed, the bones splintering audibly under its odorous foot.

"Yum, snack!" It crooned in its pathetic vocabulary. Lifting its leg, it seized her in its meaty left hand, her ribs groaning in protest as her spine creaked. Apparently deciding to savor the moment, it threw its head back and roared with laughter.

Gritting her teeth to keep from screaming out, Rhode manage to wiggle her dagger out of its sheath. Wrenching her arm out from under its fingers, she allowed herself a viscous tear-stained smile as she drove the blade into its hand, severing two fingers.

"GRAAH!" the monster wailed, dropping its makeshift club in the form of a large metal pipe, holding its hand with angry tears in its lone eye, "Stupid snack, you no attack!" it whined.

Disregarding its complaints entirely, Rhode hit the ground with a pained thud, the snow only just cushioning her fall. Groaning in agony, she crawled towards the pond whilst cradling her broken arm with tears in her eyes. Water. She needed water. Needed to heal.

"Where you going snack!" it bellowed in anger, trying to grab for her.

Rolling around with a scream, Rhode felt the familiar tug in her gut and focused on it; the icy snow surrounding her shaping itself into shard shards of ice. Whipping her good arm around, the ice obeyed her command, launching themselves at the monster, burying themselves in its eye and gouging out its sight.

"WAHH! GRRGH!" it bellowed more, using its one good hand to cover its now lost eye and stomped around in pain.

Rolling over once more, Rhode did her best to fight through the blinding pain as she crawled towards the pond once more.

"GRAH! You took eye! But me still smell you godling, me still hear!" it shouted loudly.

The black haired girl grunted moved closer to the pond, but her hand slipped and fell on her broken arm, letting out a loud gasp of pain.

"There you is!"

Rhode's eyes widened and she scrambled forward as best she could.

"Foo-oof!" it shouted as a grunt of pain and the slap of something impacting against flesh rang out.

Rhode didn't know what was going on, but as she continued to crawl. Then she saw a goat. And a grey glowing one at that, as it skipped across the pond, fleeing into the cover of the woods.

She shook her head viciously. Focus! Water, healing, kill monster. Focus!

There was some rustling from the woods and a shout of a girl rang out, "Hey! Leave her alone you bastard!"

It all happened so fast, she heard the crackling of electricity, the squelch of metal meeting flesh, a roar of pain, and the sound of dust falling.

Rhode heard the crunching padding of shoes against snow as they came to her in a fast pace, "Hey kid, you alive? Come on, say something?" the girl's voice rang out in slight panic.

"Water." Rhode croaked out.

"Damn, h-hold on, I got some nectar on me, hang on." The shaky voice said as Rhode felt her body rolled over and saw a pair of concerned electric blue eyes meet her own pained sea green eyes.

Rhode shook her head, "No. Water, heal, Poseidon." She managed to croak out through the pain as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Dear gods the pain. She could see black edging in at the corners of her vision.

The blue eyes, and freckles Rhode noticed, widened, "Poseidon?" the girl whispered in shock before she shook her head and quickly nodded, "Right, in the water. Can you even breathe in it? Wait, if you're his kid of course you could, duh." The girl said to herself.

Rhode felt the straps of her backpack being slid off of her arms, the other girl being extra careful after a hiss of pain. She could feel herself being lifted and looked up to see the mop of short raven hair of her rescuer.

The daughter of Poseidon soon sighed in relief as she felt the cool embrace of the water envelop her, paying not mind to the temperature despite the snow fluttering down around her to settle on the water's surface.

Peace filled her being as Rhode felt her broken bones and bruised ribs begin to heal. As she heeded Morpheus' call, her last coherent thought was as she idly wondered just who exactly this new girl was.

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><p><strong>Now, question answering time. 'Where's Andi?' 'Are you going to update SOM of Andi?' and so on.<strong>

**Andi SOM is currently in writing, but I have been planning this fic for a long time since I started Andi. In fact, I also have a daughter of Hades fic in planning.**

**Now, for those of you worried about Andi, know that will start up after I do my daughter of Hades fic. Yes, I am going in order of Zeus, Poseidon, and then Hades.**

**Rhode book 1 will end after year three. The school years of Hogwarts will be condensed greatly except year one since it helps establish the Wizarding World. So don't think I am doing all seven years for one book, that'd be crazy.**

**Next, I would like to give a big shout out to Seigfried01 for the beta of this chapter. You my friend, are a miracle worker.  
><strong>

**Now, Just like Andi, this will be updated every Friday.**

**Also, Happy Halloween everybody! XD**

**Now please review, no flames, and peace off.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey**

**Prologue: Adventure**

**Beta: Siegfried01**

**Edited: 11/9/14**

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><p>Rhode was floating, time held no meaning for her, nor did she recall how long she had lain there; but what she did know was that she had this strange desire to remain in the void, to stay there, away from the trials and tribulations of the world. Where she could be free.<p>

Just as she was about to sink back into the welcome nothingness, a voice stopped her. It wasn't as smooth and soft as Thetis', it was rougher, less perfect and more human. _"Rhode, Rhode. My daughter, you must wake up! Wake up!"_

Gasping as she was torn abruptly from her slumber, Rhode began to swim back up. Breaking the surface of the water, a cold draft cut across her face, a reminder of the presence of winter.

"It's about time, you were in there for over half an hour already. Anymore and I'd have to decide whether to leave or not."

Whipping around, Rhode was startled to see the girl from before, sat perched on a flat stone overlooking her pond. Her eyes were the first thing Rhode noticed, the intense electric blue gaze boring into her own. Then it was her hair, the raven black strands contrasting sharply with her pale complexion and bright eyes. The choppy mop, along with her heavy stare, meshed to convey a sort of feral strength, not a strength of the physical sort, but of her strength of will. The bridge of her nose was dotted with a splash of freckles. Her torso was protected by a Blink 182 band shirt, partially obscured by a tattered black leather jacket dotted with buttons reminiscent of some kind of punk rock genre. On her legs were a pair of loose black jeans that seemed slightly worn, the grass stains on the knees displaying for the world to see the girl's active lifestyle. Finally to top it all off were the black steel-toed leather boots. All in all, the girl was taller than Rhode and her features were sharper with less baby fat which made Rhode place her at a few years older than herself, although that could also simply have been due to an active lifestyle and better eating.

Despite all the eye catching qualities the person in front of her possessed, what really caught Rhode's attention was what said person gripped in her left hand. A glittering bronze spear with a black shaft, black, why was she not surprised it was black. Currently the girl's piercing gaze was preoccupied with surveying the area as she stood to attention. In her other hand was, strangely enough, a half-eaten granola bar. As if on cue, the girl took a bite out of the Granola bar. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, her spear collapsed into a can of mace which was pocketed.

As Rhode watched as the other girl took another bite out of her Granola bar, she jerked in realization as she remembered that she hadn't a bite to eat in hours; as if catching her train of thought, her stomach rumbled.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." The girl grunted out amidst the crumbs of her Granola bar, her pixie-like features screaming "defensive."

Rhode winced, "Sorry."

Pocketing the now empty Granola bar wrapper, the girl dusted her hands off as she got up with a grunt. Shooting Rhode a once over, she rolled her eyes. "You going to stay in there? Daughter of the King of the Sea or not, I don't think it'll keep you from getting chills."

"Oh, yeah, right." Wading out to the banks of the pond, Rhode emerged utterly bone dry. The older girl's eyebrow arched, and she appeared something akin to mildly impressed, her mouth never opened to comment though.

"Thank you, for saving me." Rhode said, but looked downtrodden. She had survived well on her own, but she ended up needing to be save. It made her sulk.

Shrugging uncaringly, the older girl eyed Rhode once more before she offered her hand stiffly. "No prob. Name's Thalia, yours?"

"Rhode Evans." Shooting Thalia a glance, she came to a decision. Taking the older girl's hand gingerly, she withheld a wince as her hand was enveloped in a grip much stronger than her own. When Rhode's hand was released she immediately walked over to her bag, picking up her dagger where it leaned against the side of the bag. As she sheathed it, the metal retreating with a hiss, she felt Thalia's gaze boring into the back of her skull.

"Why…are you looking at me, like that?"

"I was guided here, by Amaltheia."

Noticing Rhode's nonplussed expression, Thalia decided to elaborate slightly. "My dad's nursing goat. The glowing fuzz ball."

Rhode looked stunned, "Y-Your dad's Zeus?"

Thalia's shoulders seemed to sag ever so slightly before it was gone. Holding out a hand, the two girls watched as her fingers were enveloped in blue electricity, sparks jumping and arching from digit to digit.

"Yeah, and you, are a Daughter of Poseidon. Or at least, that's what you said."

Rhode nodded slowly, "Yeah…so that makes us-"

"Cousins." Thalia finished for her as her weighty gaze pinned Rhode in place, her eyes travelling up and down Rhode's slight frame.

The word cousin wasn't really Rhode's…favorite one. Was she going to bully her like Dudley did? Rhode hoped not, then she'd would have to hit Thalia with a wave from the pond. She didn't take being pushed around well anymore.

Thalia moved to pick up her duffle bag by the handles and hefted it over her shoulder. Then the daughter of Zeus looked around, "Come on, we've been here for too long. Another monster might come." Her piece said, the daughter of the sky whirled around and began striding away.

For just a moment, Rhode entertained thoughts of leaving, she had come to enjoy the solitude her travels had brought her. But then reality kicked in. Eventually she'd run into another monster like that Cyclops, only this time Thalia wouldn't be there, and then she'd probably actually die; and then there was the fact that Thalia…intrigued her, for a lack of a better word. As the only other demigod, well demigoddess to be specific, she had met, Rhode was naturally curious about this child of Zeus.

"H-Hey, wait up!"

Pausing by the entrance gate of the park, Thalia waited for her cousin to catch up, idly spinning the canister of mace as she did. When Rhode caught up she immediately set off, although this time at a noticeably slower pace. "Like I said. Amaltheia guided me here. I met you. It has to mean something. That's how this whole god stuff works, they don't exactly do stuff for no reason you know?"

Thinking back on just why she had come to the park, Rhode frowned. "I…I had this weird feeling; almost as if I had to come here."

Humming in thought, Thalia's answer was slow, as if she was taking the time to pick the right words. "Hmm…do you think…our dads wanted us to meet? It would explain Amaltheia, and your weird feelings."

Pondering the possibility, Rhode's eyebrows crashed together as she thought. Was that feeling her dad? It did feel as if her hands were being held by much larger ones, some phantom presence guiding her to the park. Either way, what she did feel was warm…and safe. Like how she did when she was in water.

"Hello? Anyone home in there, Bubblehead? You went silent on me."

Rhode baulked at the new nickname. "What'd you call me?" Shooting her cousin her best venomous look, her mood darkened when her best glare held no effect.

"Bubblehead. You're the sea god's kid, right? It fits." Thalia's smirk irked Rhode.

"My name is Rhode, you, you P-Porcupinehead!"

"Porcupinehead? Scathing. I'm so wounded." Thalia shot back, "What are you? Seven?"

"I'm eight and a half! How old are you?"

"I just turned ten."

"That's hardly older." Rhode pouted.

"Still double digits."

Rhode brooded at that. Thalia had brought up a good point, at least in a kid's perspective. Double digits carried a lot of clot.

"So like I said, what do you think about our dads wanting us to meet?"

The welcome change in topic snapped Rhode out of her funk. "I think. Maybe? I don't really know, I-I've never met my dad before."

"Funny, same here." Thalia grunted as they turned down the street.

Rhode's stomach growled again and she went for the pack of Skittles she carried.

Seeing her food, Thalia's eyebrows retreated into her hairline. "You're going to eat candy? Now?"

"I haven't eaten since lunch." Rhode retorted weakly, it was honestly all the food she had on her.

Thalia shuffled through the side pouch of her duffle bag. She pulled out another Granola bar and handed it to Rhode. "There. It might taste a little bland, but it'll be more filling."

"Thank you." Rhode mumbled out from behind the Granola bar as she immediately began to wolf it down.

"Meh, I stole a whole box of them." Thalia shrugged as she patted her duffle bag affectionately.

"Oh."

They made it to a fork in the street, pausing right there.

"So, what do you say?" Thalia asked her, "Want to travel together?" the older girl said it casually, but Rhode could hear an under tone of hope.

Rhode chewed her lip. Two demigods working together. It made sense and her dad, she just knew it, guided her here to meet Thalia. Like Zeus did with his daughter to meet Rhode.

Her dad had been looking after her and if he went to all this just for the two to meet, then she would trust Poseidon.

Taking a breath, Rhode said, "I'd really like that." She held out her right hand.

Thalia smirked and took the hand, shaking it, "Nice to meet you, Rhode."

Rhode smiled up at her, "Nice to meet you, Thalia."

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

><p>It had been a week so far since the two demigoddess started traveling together.<p>

Rhode learned that Thalia was from Los Angeles and had a terrible mother and ran away. And in turn Rhode had told her about her life. Thalia assured her that she wouldn't be like Dudley, getting the British girl to smile at that, liking the fact she had a nice cousin now.

Currently they were camping in some abandoned toy factory slightly away from the main area of Show Low, Arizona as the city readied itself for the New Year's celebration. Setting down her duffle bag next to some old boxes, Thalia perched herself against one of them, sighing in relief as her back popped as she stretched.

Fishing out her can of mace, she settled comfortably against the box. "I'll take first watch. Oh, and I'll wake you up for the fireworks," she added.

"But it's only like nine." Rhode whined; she wasn't even a little tired!

"You need all the sleep you can get for your watch." Thalia shot back.

"Okay." The green eyed girl pouted and set her backpack down to use as a pillow. She wasn't going to fall asleep in a snap, so while she waited she removed some of the harder things in her bag.

"I've been meaning to ask," Thalia's voice startled her, "What do you keep looking at?"

She knew Rhode would sometimes pull out pictures of stuff, so she didn't try to pry, but Thalia was a bit curious.

"…Promise not to laugh?"

"Sure." Thalia nodded with a smile as she sat next to Rhode. The girl showed her pictures of a lot of different places, all of which included Rhode. She even some postcards of the States the daughter of the sea had been to.

Rhode flushed, "I, um, like taking pictures." She mumbled.

"Hey, that's a nice hobby." the sky daughter shot her friend a supportive smile.

"It's not just that," Rhode added quickly and the look in her almond shaped eyes gave Thalia pause. They looked so big, so wide and innocent. You'd think with the life they live Rhode would have lost that by now, and most people would've, but not her it seemed, "I never got to travel, ever, so…" she fidgeted and gave this big smile to Thalia, "When I get older, I wanna see everything!"

Thalia blinked as she rested her chin on her knee while hugging her folded leg, "You wanna travel the world?"

Rhode nodded enthusiastically, her messy black hair shaking wildly. "I want to go everywhere and take lots and lots of pictures!" She proclaimed proudly.

Once again, Thalia couldn't help but marvel at how innocent Rhode was and how her eyes just glimmered with life and excitement. She just rambled on about all the places she wanted to go.

"So?" Rhode asked Thalia, who shook her head.

"Huh?"

Rhode puffed up her cheeks, "I asked if you wanted to come with me, silly!"

Thalia let out a small laughed, "Sure, sounds fun." She answered with a kind smile.

Rhode held up her pinkie, "Pinkie promise?" her tone was serious. A pinkie promise was a super serious deal.

"Sure." said Thalia as her smile widened and wrapped her pinkie around Rhode's as they shook on it.

The older girl let go of the pinkie and ruffled Rhode's long hair, "Now, get some sleep, Rho. I'll wake you later."

"O-Okay," the girl nodded with surprise at the nickname and put her pictures away. She rested her head on her backpack and said, "Night, Thals." Giving her own nickname.

"Night." Thalia answered with a smile to the nickname. She watched Rhode lull to sleep making soft snores with a tiny smile on her face and started to drool a bit.

Yeah, Rhode drooled in her sleep. Thalia found that out the hard way when the younger girl slept on her shoulder and got drool all over her leather jacket.

Man was that annoying.

But still, drool or not, Thalia was glad she met Rhode.

* * *

><p>It had been a few months, and some monsters, since the two friends had met. It was late June as they hung around Atlanta, Georgia.<p>

They ended up following Amaltheia, Zeus' nursing goat, into a nest of monsters along the way and killed them. Turned out that the monsters had a stash of celestial bronze weapons. They bundled up the weapons and stashed them in a little safe house they made along the Chattahoochee River.

Best part was that Rhode found a Pez dispenser.

And no, it wasn't the best part just because it held candy. Flicking up the Donatello Ninja Turtle head made it turn into a six foot celestial bronze tipped spear with a brown shaft. She finally had a weapon with some reach. That didn't mean she was going to stop using her dagger, it was still very useful after all; having come in handy, both as a general purpose tool, as well as a backup weapon many times. Rhode lost count of the number of times it had saved her life.

Currently the girls were, once again, hanging around a park.

"Coast clear?" Thalia asked Rhode as the younger girl nodded, "Good." She mumbled and pressed a crackling finger against a Coca Cola vending machine, right next to the change return button. Licking her lips, Thalia sent a good shock into the machine's system. Almost instantly the machine began to spark and begin to spit out quarters.

Rhode opened her backpack and let the coins fall in. They were short on money again and with Thalia's ability with static, this was one of their main ways of gaining income. Rhode's part was pulling change out of wishing fountains.

After a minute or so, "I think it's out." Rhode said and Thalia nodded.

"Yeah," the older girl said, "Let's get out of here." And so they hurried out of the park, making sure they left as quickly as possible, just in case someone saw them messing with the vending machine. Turning the corner, they found themselves in a street full of shops and restaurants.

"Let's hit up a music store or something, listen to some free tunes." Rhode said. Over the past few months, Thalia had been teaching her about music since the daughter of the sea knew absolutely nothing about it.

Of course, Thalia was more than happy to brainwa-er, educate Rhode on proper music.

Seriously, Green Day rocked so hard. White Stripes, Blink 182, Kid Rock, and Red Hot Chili Peppers were just the best.

"Sounds like a plan," Thalia smiled. Rhode had really changed since they started traveling together. She was so meek and quiet, but the daughter of Poseidon was really coming out of her shell. She was more confident in her skills as a demigod too, less willing to run and hide from a monster when she could win.

Rhode just need the right push was all.

"Afterwards we should have another duel." Rhode thought aloud, "We haven't seen any monsters in a week."

"So we don't get rusty." Thalia finished for her with a smile as they entered the music store.

"Exactly!"

Thalia walked up to the free tune station and put on the headphones while sifting through the choices as Rhode looked through some CD's.

"I think we should practice our powers too." Rhode said.

"Huh?" Thalia freed one of her ears.

"Our powers, practice them."

"Why? You're good with your water powers."

"Well, maybe decent, but I wanna try the others. I mean, we got to have other powers. We just have to try and figure them out." The child of the sea said, feeling rather adventurous.

Thalia rested the headphones around her neck and raised a brow questioningly, "You sure? I mean, Poseidon is what again? The Earthshaker and Stormbringer? You really wanna try messing with the powers of someone that carries those titles in a city?"

"…Good point." Rhode admitted with a pout, shoulders slumped. "But your dad's not just about lightning. I mean, sky lord's kid, hello. You probably got wind powers too."

Thalia shrugged, "I like my electricity."

"I bet you could fly with wind powers though." Rhode mused, looking through some My Bloody Valentine.

"No." Thalia said flatly and put the headphones back on.

Rhode then nodded in remembrance, Thalia was daftly afraid of heights. Rhode had wanted to go on a Ferris wheel when they snuck into a carnival and dragged Thalia along, begging for her to join her. But Thalia told her that she just couldn't no matter how much Rhode pouted at her with her big green eyes.

The daughter of the sea could understand herself not liking heights with her parentage and all. But for the daughter of the sky to not liking heights? It was kind of funny to be honest.

They listened to some more music and headed out of the city to hit the road and train. The sun shined brightly on the beautiful day along with a gentle breeze.

It was so peaceful that for a moment Rhode forgot all about the monsters and the hardships and allowed herself to imagine, just for a moment, that she was a normal kid hitting the streets with her best friend. However, like all good things, it had to end and reality set it. Then she remembered just why she couldn't be a normal kid. Said reminder came in a very…unfortunate way.

In the form of these annoying pigeon-like monsters with bronze beaks and pointy feathers that attacked them in a whirlwind of black and gold.

Thalia figured them to be Stymphalian birds, the birds her brother Hercules had killed in one of his labors.

As the girls stood back to back, Thalia gritted her teeth as sparks arced off her frame and the smell of ozone began to permeate the air. Firing a bolt of blue static from her fingertips, she knocked one of the birds out of the air, the stench of burnt flesh and singed feathers accompanying it. But for every one of the damn things she shot down, two more took its place, it was like that damn hydra! Just more annoying!

Spinning to the right, Rhode's eyes widened as she instinctively hefted her shield to protect her and Thalia's torsos, she allowed herself a sigh of relief as the razor sharp feathers bounced off of the shield like foam darts.

Bisecting one of the birds that came too close, she growled. "We're surrounded!" Almost as if to prove her point, another bird swooped down at her. Stabbing it out of the air with her spear, she nearly laughed at Thalia's response. Nearly.

"Yeah, I sort of noticed that little detail!"

As Thalia's frame began to spark once more, Rhode jumped to the left, her shield already in position to prevent Thalia from turning into a pincushion. As Rhode felled more and more of the birds by her spear and dagger, she noticed her cousin…growling.

As the daughter of Zeus was forced to duck under yet another barrage of feathers, she felt a breeze just pass her cheek and a slice was heard. Turning to inspect the damage, electric blue eyes widened, before narrowing as a dangerous glint entered those orbs.

The bastards ripped her jacket!

"That. Is. It!" Erupting into a shower of sparks, Thalia began to fire more and more static bolts as Rhode was forced to roll away for fear of getting fried.

Griping her spear tightly, Thalia roared as she swung the weapon, its tip crackling with electricity. As the spear moved, arcs of static streaked out of the tip, making a giant net of electricity. The wide arc of the spear caught nearly all of the demonic pigeons, zapping them all into a whirlwind of gold dust.

Out of the three or four dozen that had attacked the girls, now only half a dozen remained. Apparently deciding to cut their losses, the remaining birds quickly retreated, leaving the bronze beaks and razor sharp feathers of their fallen comrades lying in the grass.

Just as the rest of the birds vanished, Thalia began to pant, collapsing to her knees. She was forced onto her back as Rhode tackled her in a giant bear hug, sending them tumbling across the ground.

"That was amazing!" Rhode exclaimed, awed by the move as her sea green eyes twinkled in admiration.

Thalia grunted from the impact and was about to tell Rhode to get off, but hearing her singing praise just made the older girl smile. She propped herself on her elbows and said, "Yeah, I know I am. Can I get up now?"

Rhode flushed and got off her friend, "Sorry, but still! That was amazing. Wish I could do something like that." She lamented.

Thalia frowned and cuffed Rhode's shoulder, "Hey, you got those water powers and that horse thing." She said, standing up and pulling up her friend with her.

"Yeah," Rhode said rather dryly, "Water powers." She looked around, there wasn't any water nearby as far as the eye could see. Just buildings from the distant city. "Not seeing a herd of horses either."

"Start carrying a water jug?"

"…You are hilarious. No wonder you're named after the muse of comedy." Rhode said with a dull glare, getting a grin from Thalia.

"I try." The daughter of Zeus said, "Come on," she looked around, "Let's get out of here." She said, changing her spear back into her mace canister.

"Right." Her young friend nodded, getting her spear to change into her Pez Dispenser.

They grabbed their backpacks and hit the road once again.

* * *

><p>Snarling in annoyance as she sidestepped the hobo charging her, Thalia seriously debated killing the damn mortal. The idiot had apparently thought two girls were an easy target as they searched for shelter and jumped them with a knife.<p>

Thalia was not happy. Seeing her cousin's expression, Rhode almost felt sorry for the poor knife hobo. Almost.

Punching their assailant in the ribs, her fist fizzing with electricity, Thalia's smirk turned vicious as he screamed, the power of the currents sending him soaring into a nearby wall. Marching over to his crumpled form, Thalia ripped the pocket knife from his hand, disregarding his groans entirely. She didn't hit him with that much of a charge, so he'd be fine. Even if he wasn't, it wasn't as if anyone would care anyway.

"Next time," she snarled out, glaring furiously, "think twice before mugging kids." Brandishing the blade at his gut, she noticed a wet spot on his pants as the stench of urine made its way to her nose. "Or you might just get gutted. Got it?"

The unfortunate man nodded frantically, trying to appease this goddess of death before him.

"Glad we understand each other then." Thalia nodded with a smile that was both incredible bright and utterly fake before driving her elbow into his face, breaking his nose as the cartilage was crushed, knocking him out cold.

Rhode whistled, "That was awesome."

"I know." Thalia smirked, tossing up the blade as gravity returned it to her opened palm, "And I got a free knife. A win-win in my books."

Rhode giggled, "You're just jealous I have one."

"Am not." Thalia denied as they went to find shelter.

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Argh! I'm not having this conversation with you."

"Alright, but you so are."

"Rhode!"

* * *

><p>It was July first.<p>

Thalia had been acting strange. When Rhode would ask, she would just wave it off, saying she was tired. But her electric blue eyes were puffy like she had been crying or something.

Thalia was rarely sad. Angry, oh sure. But not sad. It worried Rhode.

It was even stranger when she used some of their money to buy a cheap cupcake and candles as they went to a park, and she set it on a swing with the four candles on it. She used their lighter to ignite a single candle and used it to light the rest.

Thalia moved to a nearby bench, just watching the candles flickered and the wax melt.

Rhode sat next to her and just held her hand, not knowing what to do for her best friend. Thalia didn't even seem to notice and just squeezed it tightly.

What happened next startled Rhode.

"Happy birthday to you," Thalia sang in a soft tone, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday Jason, happy birthday to you." She finished in a pained whisper.

A stray tear blinked from Thalia's eye. They just sat for a while in silence as the wax dripped all over the cupcake.

It was…surreal to Rhode, seeing Thalia like this. To the daughter of Poseidon, the daughter of Zeus was just such a strong person. It was why Rhode looked up to her. Wanting to be more like her.

But now? Rhode wondered what else had happened to her best friend.

* * *

><p>The month passed by quickly and it was July thirty-first, Rhode's birthday.<p>

Rhode was busy rubbing her arm, "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes."

"On my birthday?"

"Birthday punches are important." Thalia affirmed with a sage-like nod.

"You Yanks are so weird," the daughter of the sea muttered.

Thalia rummaged through her duffle bag and procured as brown paper bag, "Catch," she said, tossing it to Rhode.

The younger girl fumbled with it in the air until it was clasped between her small fingers, "Huh?"

"Duh, it's you're B-day." Thalia grinned at her, "You thought I wouldn't get you something?"

"But how did you get it? I mean, we only have about-"

"Doesn't matter." Thalia cut her off about their money issues, "Open it." She ushered eagerly.

Rhode did and she saw a beanie. It was black and had green stripes going horizontally around it, like a funky target symbol, "Wow." She said with a smile and turned to Thalia, beaming, "This is the second time I ever got a birthday gift!" she cheered and hugged Thalia around the waist tightly, "Thank you." She mumbled in the hug.

Thalia smiled down at her and hugged back, "No prob, Rho. Now let's put it on," the girl did and Thalia's smile grew, "There, you look rocking, girl," she winked as Rhode had a giddy look on her, "Plus, it helps with your hair." She added since Thalia had tried cutting it short a few times with Rhode's dagger, but somehow it just grew back seconds later.

Rhode tucked some of her long hair under the hat as her face was alit with happiness.

This was the best birthday she ever had.

Even if her arm was sore.

* * *

><p>They were currently in Chicago, Illinois. The early September air was still hot but cooling down.<p>

The girls had stopped for a drink run. Thalia got a Coke while Rhode went for some chocolate milk, the drink of champions.

They were walking down the street until a situation occurred.

There was a lot of screaming, crashing, and oddly mooing.

The demigods moved to check it out and dropped their drinks, stunned at what they were seeing.

"That is one _big_ cow." Rhode muttered, wearing a chocolate milk mustache.

"Understatement." Thalia added with a blink of her blue eyes, her ADHD making her idly wonder what kind of burger that would make.

The cow, or rather bull, was as tall and long as a bus, twice as wide. It's beautiful hide was as pure as snow, its long menacing horns as black as the asphalt it stomped on, making webs of cracks with dark gleaming hooves. It had a hotdog cart lanced through its horn as it exhaled heatedly through its gold ringed nose, rattling the jewelry.

The mortals were running away or retreating into the surrounding buildings (who knew what they were seeing). The bull wasn't looking very picky on what it destroyed as it mindlessly stomped around and bellowed out its noisy moos as it sniffed out the demigods.

"What monster is that?" Thalia questioned, her mace canister turning into her spear.

Rhode thought briefly, white hide, rampaging bull, only one thing came to mind, "I think…it's the Cretan Bull. Dad made it for the king of Crete to sacrifice to himself, but the king kept it because it was too beautiful to slay. Later Hercules had to capture it for one of his labors and then let it loose and it moved to Marathon, destroying the countryside until Theseus killed it."

"How did you know all that?" Thalia asked in surprise.

"I know a lot of my dad's and brothers stories."

"Of course you do." Thalia rolled her eyes with a smile at how proud her friend looked, "Seems Chicago is his new stomping grounds." Thalia said, making Rhode pause, glancing a look at her.

"The Chicago Bull?" she dryly asked, Thalia gave a snorting laugh.

"Right, bad joke. But damn, MJ would love a mascot like that."

"Got it all out of your system?"

"Yep." Thalia said with a lopsided grin before she grew serious, "Does it have a weakness?" she asked as the bull just crushed a Honda Civic into a UPS building.

"No, Hercules wrestled it into submission…Hey, Thalia, you wanna-"

"Not happening." the daughter of Zeus said in a flat tone.

"Thought so." Rhode nodded, "Theseus just killed it, so no weaknesses I can think of."

"Great." Thalia frowned as she clenched her spear tightly, trying to think what to do.

They didn't get much time to do that as they ducked under the hotdog cart flung at them. They turned to see condiments scattered around with bits of hotdog everywhere. The stomping of a hoof drew their ADHD attentive minds back to the beast, who was snorting with black beady eyes locked onto them.

Thalia's cry to scatter was nearly blocked out by thundering of hooves as the girls split dived apart, the bull tackling a Mustang with its lanced head ornaments, skidding the car down the vacant street.

Thalia aimed her spear as it crackled to life at the tip, firing a bolt of static. It landed a blow on its flank, leaving a large blackened scar on the once spotless white hide.

"MURRG!"

"I think you made it mad!" Rhode told her friend as she brought out her own spear and peeked out the Ford she huddled behind for cover.

"I figured!" the daughter of Zeus retorted as she fired another round, but the bull powered through the hit and charged at her, "Shit!" Thalia cried out and quickly fired a static bolt through a window of a Cards and Gifts store. She leaped through broken window, avoiding the ploughing dash but roughly landed through the candy counter.

Rhode looked around, trying to find something to help and her face lit up. Down the street was a fire hydrant, "Thank you city safety regulations," she praised and dashed for it, "Hey!" she called out, "Over here you poor excuse for a cow!" she cried out to the monster, drawing its beady stare with flaring nostrils.

"Rhode!" Thalia cried out with a few Gummy Bears in her hair, wrestling a huge shelf off her leg to go help.

As she ran, Rhode concentrated hard on the bright red hydrant with a tug in her gut. The hydrant started to shake violently and blasted off like a bottle rocket, the water it held back gushing like a geyser. Rhode jumped through it, getting wet and turned around on the balls of her feet and focused the water until it bent. It splattered the bull in the face mid-charge with its pressure, blinding the monster.

Rhode could see its movements far sharper now and jumped out of the way as the bull skidded into another building entrance. The hydrant finally landed on the hood of a Porsche, the alarm flaring. Rhode then threw her spear as the bull past her and paled as she missed and the shafted weapon imbedded itself into the bovine's right shoulder.

The bull let out a bellow of maddened pain and broke further through the window it crashed into and turned to glare menacingly at Rhode. Hooves stomping towards her as she looked at the geyser and an idea hit her. She edged behind it as the bull's face broke through the spraying water, mooing in fury as spittle flung from its mouth.

Rhode concentrated even more than before, the sidewalk exploded with concrete and water as the stronger pressure literally flung the bull off balance and onto its side, crushing the nearby parking meter. The daughter of Poseidon drew her dagger.

As the monster was moving back to its feet, the green eyed girl lunged with a cry. The child of the sea stabbed it in its large neck and dragged it down as hard as she could against the thick hide, slitting its throat. It released a strangled moo and the monster fell to dust.

Its flawless snow white hide (now the size of a normal bull) was left behind. The water geyser continued to gush and rain on Rhode as she breathed heavily, adrenaline fading. She fell onto her butt, staring at the soaked hide, utterly stunned.

She'd never beaten a monster that big before on her own.

Her right hand rested on her still rapidly beating heart, hardly noticing Thalia running up to her, hands on her shoulders, "Rhode? Rhode! Are you okay?" she questioned quickly, her tone laced with worry as she inspected her friend, getting drenched in the water.

Rhode blinked her green eyes and turned to look right into Thalia's blue ones, "Um, yeah, just, a little overwhelmed is all." Her victory still bouncing around in her chest as happiness of her progress set in.

Thalia looked at the hide and turning to smile at her friend, "Rhode that was amazing!" she praised but turned stern just as fast, "Don't scare me like that again, okay?" Gods, give a girl a heart attack why don't you?

Rhode just nodded numbly, "O-Okay," she said and got up as they moved away from the raining water. After picking up her spear and the hide, the two moved away fast as the police sirens rang in the air. As kids living on the streets, they didn't really trust the cops since they might end up in some orphanage or juvie.

Rhode willed Thalia dry and they ran away, ending up at the beach of Lake Michigan. The waves beat softly against the silky white sand of the famed third coast.

"So what are you going to do with that?" Thalia asked. Rhode was still clutching the hide of the monster, the sand making a squelching sound each time they stepped on it.

"Delivering something long overdue," Rhode answered as they made it to the base of the shore, water spraying the air. She tossed the hide into the waters, floating atop a wave and was pulled further out from the rip current.

"Hi dad," the green eyed girl greeted with a little wave, her feet shifting on the noisy sand. "I just," Rhode pursed her lips, thinking of what to say, "I just wanted to give this to you. I know I haven't met you yet, I don't even know anything about you but stories…but, I just want to say thank you." The daughter of the sea said sincerely, "Thank you for watching over me and bringing me here to the States," she looked at her best friend and took her hand, "I made an amazing friend who keeps me out of trouble, most of the time. I'm learning lots of new stuff. So, I just wanted to return the favor, dad." Rhode said softly, "I know you should've gotten this the first time, so I thought you might like it."

A foamy wave washed over the hide, and it was gone. Lake Michigan looked even clearer and brighter in the glistening sun. Rhode swore for a moment she saw a face, but the waters looked too shifty to tell. It felt like it was smiling at her, which made warmth fill the daughter of the sea's heart.

Thalia smiled at her friend, squeezing her hand, "That was cool."

"Yeah," Rhode said, lost in a thousand mile stare, "I hope I can meet him someday." Her voice was a soft whisper, as soft as the waves before them.

"You will," the daughter of Zeus said in support. She honestly wasn't sure, but Thalia had an inkling that her friend would. Someday.

Rhode gave her a small smile.

* * *

><p>Rhode stirred, her body restless as she slept.<p>

It was October thirty-first, Halloween night.

The girls were holed up in a public bathroom in one of the local parks. Considering tonight, they thought it best to lay low. What with all the costumes and the crowds, it was anyone's best guess who was monster and mortal. Better safe than sorry after all.

"No, no." the daughter of Poseidon whimpered, eyes screwed shut and sweat trickled her brow.

He stalked closer, a vile look on his face. Twisted, distorted, dark.

She moved between them, shielding her, pleading to the man.

There were words exchanged before he laughed.

It ended with a sickly green light.

"NO!" Rhode screamed, her eyes flew open.

"Hey." Thalia said, who had been on watch, and grabbed her, "Rhode, calm down!"

"No!" the daughter of Poseidon wailed, "Please!"

Thalia wrapped her arms around Rhode as she thrashed, "Calm down!" she said, but her cousin kept fighting her.

"Please! Don't!"

Thalia had to actually give her a tiny zap, making Rhode yelp. Wild green eyes cleared, darting around frantically until they met electric blue. Rhode started to shake, breaking down into sobs as she buried her face into Thalia's chest.

"Hey, hey. It was only a dream, Rhode. A bad dream." Thalia crooned, stroking her hair gently. But Rhode shook her head.

"No, it wasn't." she hiccupped.

Thalia frowned, "Was it a dream or a demigod dream?" She asked, since demigods sometimes had weird dreams.

"I-It was a dream I get sometimes. But it was much slower, far clearer." Rhode choked out, shedding more tears.

Thalia's arms tightened, "What did you see?" she asked softly, getting a sniffle.

"There was this guy. Albino, bald, he was in some black bath towel, cackling with a stick in his hand." Rhode told Thalia, "He was saying: 'Give me the girl, give me the girl!' My Mum, s-she said no, begging him to take her instead." The young girl started to choke, "He pointed the stick at her, there was this green light an-and-!" she started to cry, "He killed her! He killed my Mum!" she sobbed out, Thalia holding her tightly, rocking her.

"It's okay, shhh, it's okay." The daughter of Zeus soothed, trying to calm Rhode down. She honestly didn't know what to say about that dream. What could you? "You're safe."

Rhode blinked those big green eyes at her, looking so vulnerable. Thalia felt a pang in her chest at the sight, making her hold Rhode tighter. "I won't let go, Rhode. I'm right here, I promise."

Rhode let out the rest of her tears, Thalia refusing to let her go for the rest of Hallow's eve.

* * *

><p>It was December twenty second, Thalia's birthday. The two girls were in their shelter for the night in Oklahoma. They pulled out some snacks they stole and were laughing and telling stories to pass the time.<p>

"Here," Rhode said as she pulled out an envelope and handed it to Thalia with a giddy look in her green shaded eyes.

Thalia opened it and pulled out a piece of paper, she unfolded the paper and it was a sketch of herself. She had to admit, despite being nine years old, Rhode had some talent. Seemed like the daughter of Zeus had a budding little artist with her.

The picture was as said, Thalia, but cartoonish. She was pointing her spear to the sky with a confident smirk on her face. Lightning was striking down behind her as an electric aura was around her crackling.

Thalia pulled Rhode into a half-hug, resting her chin atop Rhode's head, admiring the picture, "Rhode, this is- just wow, Rhode. Thank you." She kissed the top of her head. It was such a good picture.

"I think the lesson at that Y-Center was really helpful." Rhode said shyly, being modest.

When they were staying in Wisconsin, the two hung out in a Rec Center for mortal kids. There was this after school arts program that peeked Rhode's interest. Thalia got her in with some talking to the instructor, who was more than willing to let another join in.

They did sketching and even graffiti art outside of the building, like some big group thing that even Thalia joined in. She had never seen Rhode having such fun with something and was always supportive of her artistic side.

"Without a doubt." Thalia grinned, "When are you going to let me see your other stuff?"

Rhode flushed, "No." she waved her hand, "No way are you seeing those. They aren't that good."

Thalia laughed, "Okay okay, but you have to promise me you'll show them to me someday, alright?"

"We'll see~" Rhode returned slyly.

"What?" Thalia pouted, "I'll get them out of you!" She mock threatened and started to tickle Rhode.

"Ah! Hey, haha, stop!" Rhode laughed out as Thalia tickle tortured her, "You know that, haha, I hate tickles!" she said in peals of laughter out as Thalia laughed too.

"I know. Now show me!" Thalia smiled in triumph.

"Never!" Rhode exclaimed in giggling defiance.

"Well see about that!"

Rhode reached her hand out, firing a bombardment of Skittles at Thalia.

"Hey! Using candy is unfair!" Thalia said, wiping her face.

"All's fair in a tickle war!" Rhode declared proudly and yelped, ducking under Thalia's arsenal of Gummy Bears.

Thalia grinned, holding some Pop Rocks, "Well, if you say so."

Rhode armed herself with some M&M's, "Fair warning, I am a Candy Kung Fu black belt."

Blue and green eyes narrowed at one another.

"Bring it on." Thalia challenged daringly.

And so the war of candy and tickles prolonged until almost midnight.

As the excitement of the newly dubbed Candy War faded, the two girls huddled together in the effort to stay warm.

Thalia idly pulled out Gummy Bears from Rhode's hair as she said, "Hard to believe it's almost the year two thousand."

"Yeah." Rhode nodded, brushing so Pop Rocks off her shirt, "What do you think of that Y Two K thing?"

Thalia shrugged her shoulders, some M&M's sliding off them, "I don't know, I mean, some computer nonsense doesn't really affect us."

Rhode nodded, popping a Skittle into her mouth, "Yeah, I guess so. Still weird though."

"Oh, definitely." The older girl nodded.

Rhode soon closed her eyes as the birthday girl herself took first watch.

Thalia smiled, brushing some of Rhode's messy hair fondly. Thinking on the thoughts of being eleven now.

All Thalia needed was her best friend with her. That was the best gift of all.

* * *

><p>The half-bloods were walking the streets of Memphis, Tennessee.<p>

It was February fourteenth.

"Gag me." Thalia grimaced…pink, it was everywhere!

"Isn't pink standard on Valentine's day?" Rhode asked with her head tilted to the left.

Thalia stopped them right then and there, "Rhode, pink is the color of Satan." She sternly said.

"…But we're Greek."

"Color. Of. Satan." Thalia poked Rhode's chest with each word.

Rhode frowned and rubbed her chest, "Oookay, pink is evil. I get it." She personally found green to be the best color ever anyway.

"Even worse, they have a holiday for it." Thalia rubbed her forearms, like she was going to break out in hives any second.

"I've never celebrated Valentine's day." Rhode admitted as they passed a couple kissing. Ew, gross. "Never really had a reason to."

"Same." Thalia nodded, dancing around a Cupid sign and stuffed her hands in her pockets, "I just don't see the use of it. I mean, it's just some scheme for the candy companies."

"Candy is good though." The daughter of Poseidon argued.

"It is. But this is just glorifying it in my opinion." Thalia huffed.

"So we aren't exchanging cards?" Rhode asked curiously.

Thalia paused mid-step, turning towards Rhode, "Huh?"

Rhode beamed and shuffled through her green Power Ranger backpack, "I made you a card!" She pulled out a folded piece of loose-leaf that had a picture of them holding hands and smiling, "I've never had a reason to give someone a card before. And we were kind of running from that truancy officer last Valentine's day, so I worked super hard on this one." She held it out to Thalia.

Thalia blinked owlishly and rubbed the back of her neck with her right hand and took the card, "Well, um, normally you give a card to someone you like." She explained.

"But, you're my best friend. Of course I like you." The daughter of Poseidon smiled.

"Uh." Was Thalia's awkward rebuttal. She just opted to open the card. It was a simply little message: Happy to be with you.

Though why did she have to add so many hearts?

"It's nice. Thanks, Rhode." Thalia smiled at her friend.

"…Don't I get one?"

Thalia frowned, "I, um, didn't think to get one. Sorry?" she said with a sheepish look.

"Oh." Rhode made a small noise of disappointment. She looked like a kicked puppy.

_Oh gods, come on!_ Thalia whined in her mind. Great, now she felt like the bad guy.

The daughter of Zeus looked around, maybe there was a card shop or something. Maybe candy? Rhode liked candy. She narrowed her eyes and saw something down the street. There! A photo booth! Rhode loved pictures. It was perfect!

"How about something better than a card?" Thalia asked with a grin.

"What?" Rhode asked, perking up a little.

Thalia took her hand and led her down the street.

"A photo booth?" Rhode asked as her friend ushered her in.

"Yeah, a picture says a lot more than a card, right?"

"Well, a card has words-"

Thalia cut her off, "Come on." She said, sitting down and putting in a few quarters.

Rhode shrugged and sat next to Thalia as she pushed some buttons.

There were four pictures. One was of them with their arms around each other's shoulders. The next was of them making silly faces. The following one was of Thalia giving Rhode a playful noogie. And the final one was of them just smiling brightly at the camera.

"Alright," Thalia grinned at the success of her situation. She went to get the pictures and paused. They were decorated with little hearts around her and Rhode. She exited the booth and struggled to read the sign: Valentine's Day Edition.

As Thalia glared at the sign, Rhode snagged the pictures from her hand.

"Wow! These are great!" Rhode beamed up at Thalia, "You were right, this is way better. Thank you, Thalia." she held it close to her chest, treasuring it.

Thalia just rubbed her eyes, "L-Let's just get out of this town."

"You don't want to go see Graceland?" Rhode raised a brow, pocketing the pictures. She kind of wanted to see Elvis' mansion.

"No." Thalia answered. Rhode looked at her in confusion.

Thalia was so weird at times.

* * *

><p>Rhode and Thalia were riding a hippocampus. Rhode had prayed to her dad for a lift in the waters outside of North Carolina. It was answered rather quickly.<p>

"H-Holy crap." Thalia said in shock, panting like crazy with her face covered in sweat. She felt like she ran a marathon.

"How did you even do that?!" Rhode exclaimed with wide eyes.

Behind them, a part of the harbor was on fire, two ships were sinking and one was drifting out into the ocean. Police, fire trucks, and ambulance sirens wailed.

"I-! I just got pissed and then boom! Lightning strike!"

"I thought you could only do those static bolts?"

"…Guess it's a daughter of Zeus thing." Thalia stated as she looked down, still stunned, "And now we're riding some horse fish thing."

The hippocampus whined in displeasure at that.

Rhode rubbed the hippocampus' scaly mane, "She is a hippocampus. Her name is Skittles."

"…Skittles?"

"Yeah, you know, taste the rainbow, rainbow tail? What else would I call her? Bessie?" Rhode snort at the stupid name. Even the newly named Skittles gave a nickering laugh at that.

Thalia couldn't help but laugh at that too, "Yeah, you'd have to be pretty stupid to name something Bessie of all things."

They continued to joke about it as Skittles swam them to Florida at speeds faster than a jet-ski.

* * *

><p>It was July first again, Thalia had gotten another cupcake with five candles. They just sat in the park somewhere in Arkansas.<p>

Thalia was looking at the flickering candles with sad blue eyes. Rhode, seeing this, couldn't help but ask.

"Do…Do you want to talk about it?" she asked her best friend softly, unsure what to do. Rhode just hated it when Thalia was sad. It made her feel like she wasn't doing her best to help her friend.

Thalia's face was a storm of emotions for a few minutes, like she was trying to think of what to say. The daughter of Zeus let out a sigh, "Yeah. To be honest, it would be nice." Rhode had been honest about her old life. It was only fair that Thalia showed that same length of trust after all the time they had traveled together and fought by each other's side. No matter how much it hurt to talk about it.

"I…had a little brother." Thalia started softly, eyes never leaving the flickering flames of the candles. "He was about seven years younger. You see, after I was born, Zeus left Mom. She went into a depression. You couldn't not see with some booze on hand. Her career went to crap, that just made the booze all that more enticing." Thalia took a shuddering breath, "Seven years later, Zeus came back…but he was weirder, more fatherly yet stern. He also spoke Latin a lot." The blue eyed girl remarked.

"Wait, you knew he was Zeus?" Rhode asked with a raised brow.

Thalia nodded, "Not at first, but Mom loved to boast about it when she got really drunk. How she got together with the King of the Gods. Like she was something special." The daughter of Zeus spat, "Trust me, she wasn't. Anyway, Zeus came back. And later on, Jason was born. I though, stupidly, that maybe things would get better." She slowly closed her eyes and after a moment opened them, "They didn't. Zeus left again, she kept pestering him for eternal beauty, or to visit Olympus. The whole house reeked of alcohol from that point on." Thalia's hands balled, her nails digging into her palms, "She couldn't even take care of Jason, I did all that. I...I wanted to give him the love he deserved…That I didn't get." She raised her hand, roughly rubbing her right eye, feeling a struggle to press on. Swallowing, Thalia steeled herself.

"Mom, she was just too unstable. After almost three years, I tried to do everything I could for Jason." Thalia's shoulders slumped, "But with her, it was taking care of two babies. I just couldn't stand her, the only reason I stayed was for Jason. Suddenly Mom wanted to go on a picnic, I was stunned. We never vacationed. Ever. But she was insistent on going. Once again, I stupidly thought she was trying to change." Thalia raised her left knee onto the bench, resting her chin on it, "We went to Sonoma Valley, nice little place, peaceful. All those birds and squirrels and stuff." Thalia's tone tightened, her eyes gaining a dark glint.

"She was holding Jason, very rare, showering him with attention. She told me to go get the picnic basket from the car. I did. When I came back though…she was sitting on the stone steps, crying. She told me Jason was dead." Thalia growled out, "I thought she'd finally lost her mind…I searched for hours, all day. He was gone." She said in a defeated tone, but righteous fury soon took hold, "When we got back, I blew the whistle on her. The cops came. They questioned her for a long time, but she wasn't arrested, no matter what I told them." Her jaw jumped in frustration at remembering it all, eyes glazing over in memory.

Thalia's right hand squeezed her knee, "Then, Mom turned on me. She was screeching how I betrayed her. How I should've sided with her. How it was the right choice!" Thalia's voice rose in volume with each word as she snapped. Rhode, who had been silently listening, took her friend's left hand, who started to squeeze it, "I lost it. It was just the last straw. I pushed her, static included." Rhode winced, that stuff hurt, "Damn drunk went sailing in the air and crumpled like a rag doll." Thalia said, deep satisfaction in her voice at the deed.

"I left." The daughter of Zeus said, "Drained every bottle she had down the drain. Took every speck of cash she had. Grabbed my jacket and," she pulled out her mace canister, "This. And I ran away, I just couldn't take her poison anymore." She said, running her sleeve under her nose, trying her best to keep her composure.

Rhode just moved closer, giving her best friend a big hug. She didn't know what to say. Rhode wasn't really the best with words, but she'd show Thalia that she was here, for her. Just like she was for Rhode.

Thalia didn't even seem to notice she was blinking out a few tears as she held Rhode in thanks. She started talking about Jason, going on and on about all the little things. Like the time he tried to eat a stapler and got a small scar on the corner of his lip, him in his little Superman footie PJ's, or playing hide and seek in their apartment.

Rhode just kept listened as Thalia let it all out.

The candles had long since cooled, their melted stubs amidst the wax by the time Thalia finished.

* * *

><p>The rest of the month was a blur as the two half-bloods grew even closer than ever before after their little heart-to-heart regarding Thalia's past. Now it was the thirty first, Rhode's birthday. Currently the girls were perched outside a concert hall where mother-freaking Green Day was playing! Earlier Thalia had tried to sneak them in, so eager to see the band live. But, unfortunately, they were found out and security tossed them out, making the girl threaten them rather colorfully.<p>

That was what led them to their current position, sitting against one of the walls as they listened to the slightly muffled music and roaring of the crowd. They had decided to cheer themselves up by helping themselves to Rhode's ever-present Skittles.

"Sorry, Rhode." Thalia frowned, popping a Skittle in her mouth. She had wanted Rhode to go to her first concert (Of the best damn band ever!), but that idea got shot down quick. Damn guards, she should've just zapped 'em to Hades and back.

Rhode just shook her head, "It's fine. It's the thought that counts, Thals. Besides, just relaxing like this?" She rested her head on Thalia's shoulder, giving a beaming smile, "This is fine too."

Thalia offered a small smile. Happy that Rhode was happy.

They listened to the loud beats and cheers until Rhode started to sing.

"Do you have the time, to listen to me whine?" She gave her best friend a sly look, "About nothing and everything, all at once."

Thalia blinked then smirked widely, "I am one of those melodramatic fools. Neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it~"

Rhode stood up, "Sometimes I give myself the creeps. Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me." She twirled her index fingers around her ears, "It all keeps adding up, I think I'm cracking up! Am I just paranoid? Am I just stoned?" she fanned her arms out wide.

Thalia stood up, "I went to a shrink, to analyze my dreams. She says it's lack of sex that's bringing me down." She started to air guitar skillfully, windmilling her arm, "I went to a whore. He said my life's a bore, so quit my whining cause it's bringing her down!"

Rhode leaped onto the hood of a car, "Sometimes I give myself the creeps." Bobbing her head, she spun on the hood, jumping off and landing atop another car, "Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me." She thumbed to herself, "It all keeps adding up. I think I'm cracking up! Am I just paranoid? Uh, yuh, yuh, ya!" she did her own little air guitar, her eyes screwed shut as she bit her lip a little.

"Grasping to control~!" Thalia jumped onto another car, "So I better hold on." She mock surfed the hood.

Rhode jumped off, "Sometimes I give myself the creeps." She sang, Thalia jumping down next to her.

"Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me." The punkette sang, wrapping an arm around Rhode.

"It all keeps adding up." They sang as one, "I think I'm cracking up!" they screamed. "Am I just paranoid? Am I just stoooned~?" they finished with laughs and giggles.

Thalia wiped a false tear from her eye, "Ah, I feel so proud." She said, pulling Rhode in closer, giving her a noogie, "Nice vocals, Bubblehead."

Rhode fixed her hat, smirking up at Thalia, "I have a good teacher."

Thalia stood a little straighter at that, "Damn right." She looked ahead, "Come on, let's get something to eat for a late dinner. I think I saw a BK down the road."

"When in doubt, go for the burger." Rhode rolled her eyes playfully.

"The food of champions." Thalia said sternly, looking absolutely serious.

Rhode found that weird. But then again, Thalia was kind of weird at times.

Not that it was a bad thing.

The half-bloods made it to the fast food restaurant after a small walk. Thalia managed to snag Rhode a paper crown too as they chowed down at Burger King.

All in all, the daughter of Poseidon had a great tenth birthday.

She finally hit the double digits!

* * *

><p>"Come on," Thalia said, pulling Rhode by her arm out of the alley they were walking down, muttering curses under her breath about stupid adults.<p>

"Thalia, what was that man and lady doing?" Rhode asked with an innocent blink of her big green eyes.

"Uh, kissing."

"With half their clothes on?"

Thalia looked up at the sky and mouthed: Why. She ran her hand through her short hair and groaned, "Let's have a talk, Rhode." She grimaced as they sat down on an old tire when they were well away from the alleyway.

"About what?"

"Do you know where babies come from?" Thalia asked. Her voice was pleading that she didn't have to say anything. Rhode read ancient Greek history. Surely it's been mentioned to her, right?

"The stork?"

"…Oh gods, why do you hate me?!" the daughter of Zeus whined and took a deep breath, "Okay, let's talk about the birds and the bees. Now, when a man and woman love each other very much…"

One incredibly awkward talk later.

Rhode was just looking at the pink faced Thalia, who was so embarrassed to even having to talk about this subject at all.

The daughter of the sea opened her mouth and said, "Ew, that's disgusting! Who lets someone pee-pee in them?!"

"Well, it's not like that, kinda."

"But you said they pee in them!"

"It's a different kind of pee!"

"No, pee is pee. Plain and simple."

Thalia palmed her face, "No, it's-! It's just different, okay?"

Rhode scrunched her nose, "It sounds disgusting. I'd never want someone to pee-pee in me. Boys are weird!"

Thalia rolled her eyes but smirked, "Yeah, I'll agree with you on that one."

The daughter of the sea looked up at the full moon, "We should go look for a spot to sleep tonight."

"Good idea," Thalia nodded and dusted off her jeans and they started to search around for shelter for the night.

* * *

><p>The black haired half-bloods were chasing Amaltheia, again. And it was Thalia's birthday, December twenty second.<p>

"And I thought we'd get a peaceful celebration." Rhode frowned as they ran after neon lit goat. Her lip was cut and she had a few scratches on her hands. They had just fought some monster pig the size of an SUV right outside Charleston.

"I know, but when the goat's here, we gotta follow, right?" Thalia grimaced. She had a cut on her left hand, sweat trickled her brow as she had a tiny cut under her right eye.

"But still! It's almost Christmas and it's your birthday…I just wanna relax for once." The green eye girl said, sounded tired. Thalia could understand why. They had run into about seven monsters in the span of a few days, the last one only ten minutes ago.

It was exhausting to say the least.

"Hey, once we see what Amaltheia wants, we'll get some hot cocoa with those huge marshmallows at a Seven-Eleven. Sound good?" Thalia promised, hoping to raise Rhode's spirits. The raven haired girl felt a smile tug on her face at the beaming smile from little friend.

"I love cocoa."

"I know." Was the laughing retort.

Eventually the goat stopped right before a cave. A very big and scary looking cave.

"Wow, Halloween horror much?" Thalia asked the goat, who just disappeared without a bleat.

"We didn't even get any Nectar this time," Rhode frowned, that was rude of the goat. Its teat was able to disperse nectar, the drink of the gods that could heal demigods if drank in small moderation.

Thalia looked at the large cave and frowned, "A dragon cave?"

"Probably."

"Great."

Weapons out, Rhode took point with her shield. Thalia's spear was lit with static, ready to fire at will.

Their celestial bronze weapons gave off a feint light and they used it to guide them through the damp cave. They stepped over bones of what they hoped were animals.

Rhode's foot crunched on something, but she refused to look down, "Please tell me that was an animal head, Thals."

Thalia looked down and licked her dry lips, "Yeah." She lied, it was actually a human head, one the size of a kid, around the size of Rhode actually.

"You suck at lying," She retorted dryly, inching forward slowly as she tried to steel herself.

"Sorry."

"Who's there?!" a voice shouted in the cave. A male voice.

The girls looked at one another and Thalia spoke, "Who are you?" she demanded back.

"I asked first!"

"Yeah? Well I got a lightning spear here! So come on out!" Thalia retorted. She fired a warning shot. A yelp echoed through the cave.

"Okay okay!" the boy's voice was cracking in fright.

Slowly, a boy came out of a corner of the cave with his hands up. He was taller than the girls by a good few inches. He was covered in dirt and wore tattered jeans with an old ski coat over a grey shirt. Tied to his hip was a long celestial bronze sword. He had short sandy blond hair and icy blue eyes, looking somewhat older than them with impish features on his face.

"Another half-blood?" Rhode asked as the boy's eyes widened.

"Y-You're demigods too?" he asked. There was surprise and caution in his voice, but also hope.

"Well, last I checked mortals couldn't coat their weapons in electricity," Thalia shot back, lowering her spear just slightly, looking over the guy critically. They hadn't met many demigods on the road, and the few they had met weren't always nice. It was a kill or be killed world for a demigod after all.

"I'm Luke," the boy, Luke, introduced him as he lowered his hands, "Luke Castellan."

"I'm Thalia," the daughter of Zeus introduced herself and thumbed to her friend, "And this is Rhode."

"Nice to meet you," the boy said with an easy smile.

Thalia inwardly admitted that it was an okay smile.

"What are you doing in here?" Rhode asked curiously.

The boy ran a hand through his dirty hair, "Um, hiding out. This place's abandoned. Found some weapons and such." He tapped his sword, "Needed a new one."

"Okay." Thalia said, eying the sword.

"Hey, can we leave? This place is giving me the creeps." Rhode frowned, fingering her necklace. The older kids nodded in agreement. They started walking towards the exit, avoiding the bones along the way.

Thalia asked the taller boy curiously, "How old are you anyway?"

"Thirteen." Luke answered as the exited the cave.

"You wanna join us?" Rhode asked, making Thalia glare at her. They hardly knew this guy. How'd they know he wouldn't steal their stuff in the middle of the night? He looked shady enough.

Still, why did Amaltheia have them come here…Unless it was for this guy? The nursing goat did the same with Rhode, so maybe he was to join them too.

Rhode just looked back at Thalia with a smile, no doubt having the same idea.

They were just in-sync like that.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck, "That, that would be really good actually. I've been on the run since I was nine, so…yeah." He smiled brightly at them, "Being in a group would honestly be a relief."

"…I guess it would be okay," Thalia answered and nudged her head, "Come on, we were going to get some snacks from a drug store."

"Why?"

"It's Thals birthday, she just turned twelve." Rhode answered as the continued to walk into Charleston.

"Oh," the blond blinked and grinned to Thalia, "Happy birthday then."

"Thanks."

"Come on, I wanna get some of those powdered mini doughnuts." Rhode said as she dashed ahead.

"Hey!" Thalia shouted and ran after her, "I'm the birthday girl! I pick the snacks, Rho!"

"All you get are Pop Rocks!"

Luke blinked at the two's antics and laughed to himself.

It was weird, living on your own for so long and now having companions? It felt nice.

"Hey, wait up!" he shouted, chasing after them with a smile on his face.

_Maybe…yeah._ Luke thought happily, his luck was finally turning around for the better.

He could just feel it.

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><p><strong>First, I would like to give a moment of silence since as of November sixth, the Naruto manga has ended. <strong>

**While I do look forward to the next installment, Naruto has always had a close place in my heart. Good night sweet prince, good night.**

**Also big thanks to Sieg for the beta. You rule dude and your edits are maddeningly impressive. **

****Finally, I just want you all to know that I worked my butt off on this one. Seriously. I hope you enjoy it.****

**Now please review, no flames, and peace off.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey**

**Prologue: Family**

**Beta: Siegfried01**

**AN: As of 11/10/14, chapters one and two have been edited. So, I would suggest checking them out. **

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><p>It all started with that magic goat.<p>

It was now the summer of 2001, and Thalia, Rhode and Luke had been following it across Virginia. Personally Luke didn't see a need to follow it, but was overruled by the girls, although Thalia was noticeably more agitated about it than Rhode. The scion of the skies had bluntly stated that the goat was a sign from her father Zeus. Luke still didn't see a point in following a goat across the state, but who was he to question the king of the gods?

The damned thing would pop up at the most random times, like in the middle of the night! And it was always only just visible, its neon colored fur acting as a beacon for them. Whenever they got close though, it would always find some way to disappear, like that time it walked behind a tree and vanished, and reappear somewhere further. Rhode still swore that the wooly thing was deliberately taunting them, while Thalia had repeatedly stated that it was leading them somewhere. Luke…honestly differed to Rhode's view, not that he'd voice that opinion to the hot-headed daughter of Zeus.

Currently it was six in the morning, and the three demigods had just made it to the outskirts of Richmond. Letting out an explosive breath, Rhode absentmindedly tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as they trudged across an old stone bridge arched over a lazy stream.

Surveying the town: its wooded parks, old Civil War cemeteries and red brick houses wedged together, their white columned porches and tiny green gardens adding a splash of color to the otherwise sleepy neighborhood. Noticing Luke staring longingly at the houses, a broken glint in his eyes and a small frown pulling at his lips, Rhode gently tapped his arm.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just…thinking." The blond replied lightly.

Noticing the hesitation, Rhode decided not to bring it up. None of them had the best of experiences, what with the life they led, and if Luke didn't want to bring it up then she respected that. "Don't think too hard now," she jabbed lightly, promoting a half-hearted eye roll from her friend, "you might hurt yourself."

They continued to trek for another mile or so before the exhaustion of tracking the goat began to get to them. Noting that her bag seemed heavier than it used to, and that her thighs began to shake, Rhode withheld a wince. Hopefully they'd stop and find a spot to rest and take a breather, maybe even grab something to eat.

Instead, they found that cheeky goat.

The street they were following opened up to a large, circular park. Stately red-brick mansions faced the roundabout, and in the middle of the bend, atop a twenty-foot tall alabaster white marble pillar, was a bronze cast of a man on horseback. At the base of the monument, grazing without a care in the world, was the goat.

The instant Thalia's eyes landed on the goat, they widened considerably.

"Hide!" Yanking Luke behind a row of rose shrubs, she nodded her approval to Rhode who had already ducked in as soon as she saw the goat.

"Honestly, it's just a goat," Luke said for what felt like the millionth time. "What could possibly-"

"It's special," Thalia reaffirmed. "One of my dad's sacred animals. Amaltheia."

Now this was news to Luke. In all the times they had had this discussion not once had Thalia divulged its name before. He had simply assumed she hadn't known, but now he wasn't so sure. If Luke had learned anything over their travels together, it was that Thalia did not scare easily. Actually, between the two daughters of the Big Three, Rhode was the one who would proceed things a touch more cautiously. Two sides of the same coin, is what Luke thought. So he learned that when Thalia was forced into caution, the situation was very serious; and it was because of that, that he was unnerved. Just what about that goat, sacred animal of her father or not, caused such a note of unease to stain her tone.

"So…you've seen this goat before?"

"Los Angeles. The night I ran away. And again in Arizona, that was when Rhode and I met." She said, nodding slowly before tussling her younger cousin's hair playfully, promoting an ineffective glare from said girl. "After that, we ran into her a few more times. Then, she led us to you."

This new piece of information caused Luke's eyebrow to arch involuntarily. As far as he knew, their meeting in the cave had been totally coincidental. They had met in a dragon cave outside Charleston, deciding that safety in numbers was their best bet, they teamed up. Neither one of them had ever mentioned a goat. Especially a neon-colored one.

The newfound information made Luke think. How much did he actually know of Thalia? He knew her personality pretty well, as well as her quirks and likes and dislikes, but her past was still relatively shrouded in mystery.

He knew that her mom had fallen in love with Zeus; and that Zeus, like all gods, dumped her and moved on. He also knew that after that her mom had essentially gone off the deep end, drinking and doing crazy things, until Thalia decided that enough was enough and ran. The details were sketchy at best, but that was the gist of his knowledge.

Similarly Rhode, who was English, although her accent was fading slightly, had a past much like Thalia's. Her mom and Poseidon dated, her mom died, and she got dumped with her horrendous relatives. She ditched them on a cruise ship to New York and traveled alone until she met Thalia.

Once again he didn't have many details, and honestly the curiosity was killing him, but he respected them too much to pry into things they may prefer hidden. But what he did know, was that in many ways, their pasts drew up many unnerving parallels. There were times where Luke wondered: was this what it was like for every demigod? Was that why they were so rare nowadays? Did their godly parents even care whether they lived or died? Well, the last one was mostly for his benefit. Amaltheia aside, he had seen Rhode fiddling with a pearl necklace she never took off no matter what. A gift from her father, she said. He was happy that the girls' fathers cared, at least a little, but even so he couldn't stop the stabbing pain in his chest. What about his father? Did he care?

The punk-themed girl sucked in a shaky breath. "Luke, Amaltheia only appears when something important is going to happen. Something…dangerous. She's like a guide from Zeus. Or a warning of troubles ahead."

"To what?"

"Hard to say," Rhode commented, her tongue darting out to wet her dry lips. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were narrowed in what Luke had dubbed as her 'Sherlock face.' "We've only ever seen her a few times. Sometimes we ended in a safe place, for a time. Other times it was monster nests, but we found some spare weapons there. That's about all we know about her."

"Exactly…but look." Thalia pointed across the street to where the goat continued to graze peacefully. "She's not disappearing this time. We must be close to wherever she's leading us."

Thalia was right. The goat was just standing there, less than a hundred yards away, contentedly nibbling grass at the base of the monument.

Luke was no expert on barnyard animals, but Amaltheia did look strange now that they were closer. She had curlicue horns like a ram, but the swollen udders of a nanny goat. Her shaggy coat was a dull metallic grey and was…glowing? Wisps of light seemed to cling to her like a cloud of neon, shrouding her figure in the moving air.

As they watched a couple of cars looped around the roundabout, but none of their passengers seemed to notice the glowing, gray-colored goat. It was odd, but expected. There was some form of magical camouflage keeping mortals from seeing the true appearance of monsters and gods. Mortals would probably see the goat as simply a stray dog. Or they might not see it at all.

Thalia grabbed his wrist. "Come on. Let's try to talk to it."

"First we hide from the goat," Luke said. "Now you want to talk to the goat?"

"Stop complaining." Rhode rolled her eyes.

Thalia dragged him out of the rosebushes and pulled him across the street as Rhode was already hurrying ahead of them. Luke didn't protest. When Thalia got an idea in her head, you just had to go with it. She always got her way. Same with Rhode. She would just look up at you with those big green eyes and pout looking like a cute baby seal pleading. You just couldn't say no.

Or when the two girls would argue about things to get their own way, yeah, the blue eyed boy stayed out of that. But he did enjoy the entertainment, it seemed as though they were the children of the Big Three after all.

Besides, the blond couldn't let them go without him. Thalia had saved his life a dozen times, and Rhode got him out of some sticky situations as well. They were his only friends. He had made a few friends since he ran away, even told some kids what he was, but they only found it cool and he would leave. They just didn't understand.

But the girls did. They were like him. Now that he'd found them, he was determined to stick with them. If one wanted to chase a magical glowing goat, then they'd do that, even if he had a bad feeling about it.

The goat paid the trio no mind as they approached the statue, chewing some grass and idly butting her horns against the marble base of the monument. A bronze plaque at the base read: Robert E. Lee. A defeated general.

Not the most uplifting of messages.

Thalia knelt next to the goat. "Amaltheia?"

The goat turned. She had sad amber eyes and a bronze collar around her neck. Fuzzy white light steamed around her body, but what was really eye catching were her udders. Each teat was labelled with Greek letters, like tattoos. The teats read: Nectar, Milk, Water, Pepsi, Press Here for Ice, and Diet Mountain Dew.

Rhode saw Luke rubbing his eyes as he looked under the goat, making her withhold a snicker. Yeah, it was weird seeing them for the first time.

The child of Zeus looked into the goat's eyes. "Amaltheia, what do you want me to do? Did my dad send you?"

The goat glanced at Luke and Rhode. She looked a little miffed, like they were intruding on a private conversation.

Rhode didn't look too worried, she was used to the goat being all stuffy and 'Spawn of Zeus exclusive'.

Luke, on the other hand took a step back, resisting the urge to grab his weapon. Oh, by the way, his weapon was a golf club. Feel free to laugh. He used to have a sword made from celestial bronze, but the sword got melted in acid. Long story, one Rhode laughingly promised to tell for years. Now all he had was a nine-iron slung on his back. Not exactly epic.

Luke cleared his throat. "Um, Thalia, you sure this goat is from your dad?"

"Skywalker," Rhode rolled her eyes, her little nickname for him since he liked to use swords, "trust us, we've met." she said and took a sip of water from her canteen.

"She's immortal," Thalia added with a nod. "When Zeus was a baby, his mom Rhea hid him in a cave—"

"Because Kronos wanted to eat him?" Luke heard that story somewhere, how the old Titan king swallowed his own children.

Rhode blanched at the reminder of her immortal grandfather, he wasn't a nice dude. He literally ate her dad!

So not cool.

Thalia nodded. "So this goat, Amaltheia, looked after baby Zeus in his cradle. She nursed him."

"On Diet Mountain Dew?" Luke asked.

Thalia frowned. "What?" she asked. She was messing with Luke since she had read them long ago.

"Read the udders," the blond insisted. "The goat has five flavors plus an ice dispenser."

"Baahh."

Thalia patted the goat's head. "It's okay. He didn't mean to insult you." Luke looked on indignantly, "Why have you led us here, Amaltheia? Where do you want me to go?"

The goat butted her head against the monument. From above came the sound of creaking metal. They looked up and saw the bronze General Lee move his right arm.

Luke almost used the goat as a shield. The group had fought several magic moving statues before. They were called automatons, and they were bad news. The boy wasn't anxious to take on Robert E. Lee with a nine-iron.

Fortunately, the statue didn't attack. He simply pointed across the street.

Luke gave Thalia a nervous look. "What's that about?"

Thalia nodded in the direction the statue was pointing.

Across the traffic circle stood a red brick mansion overgrown with ivy. On either side, huge oak trees dripped with Spanish moss. The house's windows were shuttered and dark. Peeling white columns flanked the front porch. The door was painted charcoal black. Even on a bright sunny morning, the place looked gloomy and creepy—like a Gone with the Wind haunted house.

The blond's mouth felt dry. "The goat wants us to go there?"

"Baah." Amaltheia dipped her head like she was nodding.

"I don't like the look of that place." Rhode added, her hand going for the milky pearl around her neck. She usually fiddled with when she was nervous or worried.

Thalia touched the goat's curly horns. "Thank you, Amaltheia. I-I trust you."

Her nervousness didn't really rose confidence in Luke as Rhode kept looking at the dilapidated house, a frown on her face. The mossy trees on either side looked like claws, waiting to grasp them.

Suddenly the mist thickened and swelled around Amaltheia. A miniature storm cloud engulfed her. Lightning flickered through the cloud. When the mist dissolved, the goat was gone.

"You sure about this?" Luke turned to Thalia.

Thalia looked at him, "Amaltheia leads me to good things, like Rhode. Despite being the pain she is."

"You're one to talk!" Rhode protested with crossed arms. A broody look came on her face that made her look like a rebel.

Thalia laughed and jokingly pushed Rhode's shoulder as she continued, "And the last time she appeared, she led me to you." She told the boy with a smile.

The compliment warmed Luke like a cup of hot chocolate. He was a sucker that way. Thalia could flash those blue eyes, give him one kind word, and she can get him to do pretty much whatever. But he couldn't help wondering: back in Charleston, had the goat led them to him, or simply led them into a dragon's cave?

"You mean, us, right?" Rhode looked at Thalia with a weird look.

Thalia turned a bit pink, "Yeah, us, duh." She said quickly.

"No, you said me."

"Drop it, Bubblehead."

"…Make me, Porcupinehead." the child of the sea returned, the two glaring at one another.

Luke got between them before they had one of their little play spats, "Easy you two," he exhaled, "Creepy mansion, here we come." The girls huffed at one another as they advanced to the house.

Steeling herself, Thalia tried the knocker. There was no answer; not like she expected one. Sighing, she settled on surveying the house to try and find a way in. Shifting around, she took in the front of the house, the porch floorboards creaking in protest as her weight moved.

The window shutters were falling apart, one of them dangling precariously as it swayed in the breeze, but the glass was grimy and coated with dust, and on the inside the curtains were drawn. Coming back to the door, Thalia took in the peeling paint and rotting wood. The dull brass knocker was shaped like Medusa's face, with the ring stylized to look like two of her snake-hairs biting each other. Not a good sign.

Jiggling the brass handle, she huffed. Luke was hoping, however unlikely, that she'd just let it go and give up. "Luke, do your thing." Nope. No such luck.

Sighing, he got on his knees in front of the keyhole. "Man…I hate doing my thing," he forced out across gritted teeth.

Despite never meeting his dad, nor did he ever want to, Luke couldn't deny that he shared some of his talents. After all, along with being the messenger of the gods, Hermes was the god of merchants –which explained why the boy was so good with money- and travelers, which explained why the divine jerk ditched his mother without a second thought and never came back. Along with those roles, he was also god of thieves. He'd stolen things, like –oh off the top of his head- Apollo's cattle, women, good ideas, wallets, his mom's sanity, and the demigod's chance at a good life.

Either way, because of his dad's godly thieving, Luke had some talents he didn't like to advertise. Reluctantly, he placed his hand on the deadbolt, concentrating on the mechanism that kept the latch in place; more specifically, the internal pins that controlled that actual latch. With a rusty click, the bolt slid back. The actual lock on the door was even easier, all he had to do was concentrate on it, tap and turn it and voila! One open door.

"That is so cool!" Rhode exclaimed, even though she'd seen him do it at least a dozen times. She'd picked a lock or two, she had to, but found it incredibly annoying. Most of the time she just jammed her blade in between the door and the frame to cut the lock. If not then the hinges worked just as well.

As the door swung open, the stench of stale air and musk rushed out, along with something else Luke couldn't identify. It reminded him of the last breath of a dying man. Thalia, being the girl she was, marched in anyway. Sighing, Luke pulled out his club and followed her, Rhode bringing up the rear.

The room they were in resembled an old-fashioned civil war ballroom, with rotted furniture dotting the area. High above them a chandelier glinted and glowed with celestial bronze trinkets of every size and shape. Arrowheads, bits of armor, broken sword hilts and shards of blades: all casting a sickly yellow glare across the room. At the opposite end of the room two hallways branched off to the left and right and a stairwell wrapped around the back wall as heavy drapes choked out the light from the windows.

In the height of its time, the place might've been impressive, grand even. But now it was a mere shadow of its former self, a husk waiting to rot away. The checkerboard marble floor was smeared with mud and caked in crusty stuff they hoped was ketchup. A disemboweled sofa cowered in one of the corners and several mahogany chairs had been splintered into kindling that scattered the area. At the base of the stairs sat a heap of cans, rags, and bones. Human bones.

Immediately Thalia whipped out her spear, the tip hissing as the weapon unfolded. Readying his golf club, which was feeling rather useless at the moment, Luke scanned the area as Rhode's fingers idly danced across the hilt of her knife, her green eyes darting to and fro warily.

Gulping, Luke started to inch toward the exit. "Maybe this isn't such a good-"

"Guys!" Rhode exclaimed, getting the others to turn as well. All of them jumped as the door swung shut with a slam.

Lunging at the handle, Luke yanked and pulled but the door held fast, its rusted hinges belying their strength. Pressing his hand against the lock, he willed it open. This time not even the pins rattled.

"The door's been sealed. Some kind of magic. I can't get it open."

Rhode walked over to the door and stabbed at its handle, trying to slice directly into the mechanism. But the blade just bounced off, the tip opening a wound on her check as she yelped in surprise.

Running to the nearest window, Thalia tried to part the drapes, but the heavy purple fabric immediately wrapped around her hands, pinning them and forcing her to drop her spear.

"Guys! Help!"

The curtains seemed to ooze and liquefy into sheets of oily sludge like giant tongues. Or fingers. They crept up her arms, coating them up to her elbows in an instant. Charging them with his club, Luke gave them a sold thwack with it. Shuddering, the ooze reverted back to fabric for a few seconds, long enough for him to pull Thalia free, her spear lying sprawled across the floor. The metal smoking, as if it had been dipped in acid.

Dragging her away as the curtains returned to ooze and groped for them, the sheets of muck lashing at the air frantically. Fortunately, they seemed anchored to the curtain rods, and after a few more failed attempts to reach them, the ooze settled back into drapes innocently hanging against the wall.

Stumbling against the wall, Luke allowed himself to slide into a sit, Thalia shivering in his arms as she rested in his lap. Thalia slowly raised her arms, her horrified eyes ghosting over the angry red blisters and steam. Her face paled. Rushing over, Rhode immediately latched onto her shoulders. "Thalia. Thalia," seeing that her cousin was looking at her, Rhode continued. "Calm down, breathe. That's it. Just breathe."

Fishing out the only bottle of nectar they had left, Luke quickly dumped it onto Thalia's arms. Immediately the steam dissipated, the blisters fading slightly slower. "You're going to be fine Thalia." He soothed, "just rest."

"We—we can't…" Her voice was shaky, but she managed to stand. Thalia glanced at the drapes with a mixture of fear and nausea. "If all the windows are like that, and the door is locked—"

"Maybe we can find another way out. I could dump some water on the hinges, try to freeze 'em. They'll shatter easier then." Rhode cut in. Unfortunately, Rhode's powers over ice were iffy at best. Often times it was hit or miss.

"No, that thing's seal shut with magic, Rhode. We'll find another way." the blond boy promised. Plus, this didn't seem like the time to remind them that they wouldn't have been here if not for the stupid goat. Luke considered their options: a staircase going up, or two dark hallways. He squinted down the hall to the left, he could make out a pair of small red lights glowing near the floor. Maybe night-lights?

Just as he finished, the lights moved, bobbing up and down. As if they were attached to someone, or something walking. They grew brighter. And closer. A growl made their blood freeze.

Thalia made a strangled sound. "Um, guys…" She pointed to the other hallway. Another pair of glowing red eyes glared at them from the shadows. From both hallways came a strange hollow clack, clack, clack, like someone playing bone castanets.

Rhode held up her dagger as they clustered together.

"The stairs are looking pretty good," Luke noted, his nimble legs ready to move.

As if in reply, a man's voice called from somewhere above them: "Yes, this way."

The voice was heavy with sadness, as if he were giving directions to a funeral.

"Who are you?" Rhode shouted back, not exactly sounding trusting of some distant voice.

"Hurry," the voice called down, but he didn't sound excited about it.

To their right, the same voice echoed, "Hurry." Clack, clack, clack.

Rhode bulked. The voice seemed to have come from the thing in the hallway—the thing with the glowing red eyes. But how could one voice come from two different places?

Then the same voice called out from the hallway on the left: "Hurry." Clack, clack, clack.

Now they've faced some scary stuff before—fire-breathing dogs, pit scorpions, dragons—not to mention a set of oily black man-eating draperies. But something about those voices echoing all around, those glowing eyes advancing from both directions, and the weird clacking noises made you feel like a deer surrounded by wolves.

Rhode was contemplating their odds when suddenly Luke grasped her and Thalia's hands, bolting up the stairs.

"Luke—" Thalia said startled.

"Come on!" the boy said quickly.

"What if it's another trap—" Rhode started.

"No choice!"

He bounded up the stairs, dragging the girls with him. He knew they were right. They might be running straight to their deaths, but he also knew they had to get away from those things downstairs.

Behind them, they could hear the creatures closing—snarling like wildcats, pounding across the marble floor with a sound like horse's hooves. What in Hades were they?

At the top of the stairs, they plunged down another hallway. Dimly flickering wall sconces made the doors along either side seem to dance. Luke jumped over a pile of bones, accidentally kicking a human skull.

Somewhere ahead of them, the man's voice called, "This way!" He sounded more urgent than before. "Last door on the left! Hurry!"

Behind them, the creatures echoed his words: "Left! Hurry!"

Maybe the creatures were just mimicking like parrots. Or maybe the voice in front of the group belonged to a monster too. Still, something about the man's tone felt real. He sounded alone and miserable, like a hostage.

"We have to help him," Thalia announced, as if reading his thoughts.

"Of course," Rhode agreed instantly, getting Luke to nod with them.

They charged ahead. The corridor became more dilapidated—wallpaper peeling away like tree bark, light sconces smashed to pieces. The carpet was ripped to shreds and littered with bones. Light seeped from underneath the last door on the left.

Behind them, the pounding of hooves got louder.

The kids reached the door and Luke launched himself against it, but it opened on its own. Thalia and Rhode spilled inside after him, face-planting on the carpet with him too.

The door slammed shut.

Outside, the creatures growled in frustration and scraped against the walls.

"Hello," said the man's voice, much closer now. "I'm very sorry."

Rhode's head was dizzy. She thought she'd heard him off to her left, but when the green eyed girl looked up, he was standing right in front of them.

He wore snakeskin boots and a mottled green-and-brown suit that might've been made from the same material. He was tall and gaunt, with spiky grey hair almost as wild as Thalia's (and that was saying something). He looked like a very old, sickly, fashionably dressed Einstein.

His shoulders slumped. His sad green eyes were underscored with bags. He might've been handsome once, but the skin of his face hung loose as if he'd been partially deflated.

His room was arranged like a studio apartment. Unlike the rest of the house, it was in fairly good shape. Against the far wall was a twin bed, a desk with a computer, and a window covered with dark drapes like the ones downstairs. Along the right wall stood a bookcase, a small kitchenette, and two doorways—one leading into a bathroom, the other into a large closet.

Thalia said, "Um, guys…" She pointed to their left.

Luke jolted at the sighted. Rhode tensed, the grip on her dagger tightened.

The left side of the room had a row of iron bars like a prison cell. Inside was the scariest zoo exhibit you'd ever seen. A gravel floor was littered with bones and pieces of armor, and prowling back and forth was a monster with a lion's body and rust-red fur. Instead of paws it had hooves like a horse, and its tail lashed around like a bullwhip. Its head was a mixture of horse and wolf—with pointed ears, an elongated snout, and black lips that looked disturbingly human.

"Okay, you are pretty ugly. And I've seen some ugly stuff before." Rhode commented, getting to her feet and moving a few paces back.

The monster snarled. For a second it looked as though it was wearing one of those mouth guards that boxers use. Instead of teeth, it had two solid horseshoe-shaped plates of bone. When it snapped its mouth, the bone plates made the jarring clack, clack, clack they had heard downstairs.

The monster fixed its glowing red eyes on Luke. Saliva dripped from its weird bony ridges. He personally wanting out of the room, but they could still hear the other creatures—at least two of them—growling out in the hallway.

Rhode helped Thalia to her feet as Luke clambered to his own as they faced the old man.

"Who are you?" Luke demanded. "What's that thing in the cage?"

The old man grimaced. His expression was so full of misery and looked as though he might cry. He opened his mouth, but when he spoke, the words didn't come from him.

Like some horrific ventriloquist act, the monster spoke for him, in the voice of an old man: "I am Halcyon Green. I'm terribly sorry, but you are in the cage. You've been lured here to die."

They'd left Thalia's spear downstairs, so they had just three weapons—Luke's golf club, Rhode's dagger, and her spear. Rhode held her dagger threateningly. Luke pointed his club at the old man, but the older man made no threatening moves. He looked so pitiful and depressed Luke couldn't even bring himself to smack the guy.

"Y-you'd better explain," Luke stammered. "Why—how—what…?"

As you can tell, he was good with words.

Behind the bars, the monster clacked its bone-plated jaws.

"I understand your confusion," it said in the old man's voice. Its sympathetic tone didn't match the homicidal glow in its eyes, "The creature you see here is a leucrota. It has a talent for imitating human voices. That is how it lures its prey."

Luke looked back and forth from the man to the monster. "But…the voice is yours? I mean, the dude in the snakeskin suit—I'm hearing what he wants to say?"

"That is correct." The leucrota sighed heavily. "I am, as you say, the dude in the snakeskin suit. Such is my curse. My name is Halcyon Green, son of Apollo."

Thalia stumbled backwards. "You're a demigod? But you're so—"

"Old?" the leucrota asked. The man, Halcyon Green, studied his liver-spotted hands, as if he couldn't believe they were his. "Yes, I am."

Thalia's surprise was very understandable. They'd only met a few other demigods in their travels—some friendly, some not so much. But they'd all been kids like them. Their lives were so dangerous, all three figured it was unlikely any demigod could live to be an adult. Yet Halcyon Green was ancient, like sixty at least.

"How long have you been here?" Rhode asked curiously.

Halcyon shrugged listlessly. The monster spoke for him: "I have lost count. Decades? Because my father is the god of oracles, I was born with the curse of seeing the future. Apollo warned me to keep quiet. He told me I should never share what I saw because it would anger the gods. But many years ago…I simply had to speak. I met a young girl who was destined to die in an accident. I saved her life by telling her the future."

Luke tried to focus on the old man, but it was hard not to look at the monster's mouth—those black lips, the slavering bone-plated jaws.

"I don't get it…" Rhode had a confused look on her face as she asked Halcyon, "You did something good. Why would that anger the gods?" Wasn't doing good thing what heroes do? That didn't sound right.

"They don't like mortals meddling with fate," the leucrota said. "My father cursed me. He forced me to wear these clothes, the skin of Python, who once guarded the Oracle of Delphi, as a reminder that I was not an oracle. He took away my voice and locked me in this mansion, my boyhood home. Then the gods set the leucrotae to guard me. Normally, leucrotae only mimic human speech, but these are linked to my thoughts. They speak for me. They keep me alive as bait, to lure other demigods. It was Apollo's way of reminding me, forever, that my voice would only lead others to their doom."

An angry coppery taste filled Luke's mouth. He already knew the gods could be cruel. His deadbeat dad had ignored him for fourteen years. But Halcyon Green's curse was just plain wrong. It was evil. Thalia had an appalled look on her face as Rhode's was filled with sadness, a tiny frown adoring her lips.

"You should fight back," Luke said. "You didn't deserve this. Break out. Kill the monsters. We'll help you."

"He's right," Thalia said. "That's Luke, by the way. I'm Thalia and this is Rhode. We've fought plenty of monsters. There has to be something we can do, Halcyon."

"Call me Hal," the leucrota said. The old man shook his head dejectedly. "But you don't understand. You're not the first to come here. I'm afraid all the demigods feel there's hope when they first arrive. Sometimes I try to help them. It never works. The windows are guarded by deadly drapes—"

"I noticed," Thalia muttered.

"—and the door is heavily enchanted. It will let you in, but not out."

"We'll see about that." Luke turned and pressed his hand to the lock. He concentrated until sweat trickled down his neck, but nothing happened. The son of Hermes' powers were useless.

"I told you," the leucrota said bitterly. "None of us can leave. Fighting the monsters is hopeless. They can't be hurt by any metal known to man or god."

To prove his point, the old man brushed aside the edge of his snakeskin jacket, revealed a dagger on his belt. He unsheathed the wicked-looking celestial bronze blade and approached the monster's cell.

The leucrota snarled at him. Hal jabbed his knife between the bars, straight at the monster's head. Normally, celestial bronze would disintegrate a monster with one hit. The blade simply glanced off the leucrota's snout, leaving no mark. The leucrota kicked its hooves at the bars, and Hal backed away.

"You see?" the monster spoke for Hal.

"So you just give up?" Thalia demanded. "You help the monsters lure us in and wait for them to kill us?"

Hal sheathed his dagger. "I'm so sorry, my dear, but I have little choice. I'm trapped here, too. If I don't cooperate, the monsters let me starve. The monsters could have killed you the moment you entered the house, but they use me to lure you upstairs. They allow me your company for a while. It eases my loneliness. And then…well, the monsters like to eat at sundown. Today, that will be at 7:03." He gestured to a digital clock on his desk, which read 10:34 AM. "After you are gone, I-I subsist on whatever rations you carried." He glanced hungrily at their backpacks.

"You're as bad as the monsters," Luke spat.

The old man winced, but Luke didn't care. In his backpack were two Snickers bars, a ham sandwich, a canteen of water, and an empty bottle for nectar. Rhode was only carrying their limited medical supplies and a bag of her Skittles. Thalia was carrying what little camping gear they had and some Pop Rocks. They really didn't want to die for that.

"You're right to hate me," the leucrota said in Hal's voice, "but I can't save you. At sunset, those bars will rise. The monsters will drag you away and kill you. There is no escape."

Inside the monster's enclosure, a square panel on the back wall ground open, probably connected to another room or something. Two more leucrotae stalked into the cage. All three fixed their glowing red eyes on the young demigods, their bony mouth-plates snapping with anticipation.

One had to wonder how the monsters could eat with such strange mouths. As if to answer the question in the kids' minds, a leucrota picked up an old piece of armor in its mouth. The celestial bronze breastplate looked thick enough to stop a spear-thrust, but the leucrota clamped down with the force of a vice grip and chomped, wrenching metal and leaving a hole in the shape of a U.

"As you see," said another leucrota in Hal's voice, "the monsters are remarkably strong."

Luke's legs felt like soggy spaghetti. Thalia paled and Rhode took a step behind the older girl, looking just as ashen.

"Send them away," Thalia pleaded. "Hal, can you make them leave?"

The old man frowned. The first monster said: "If I do that, we won't be able to talk."

The second monster picked up in the same voice: "Besides, any escape strategy you can think of, someone else has already tried."

The third monster said: "There is no point in private talks."

Thalia paced as restless as the monsters. "Do they know what we're saying? I mean, do they just speak, or do they understand the words?"

The first leucrota made a high-pitched whine. Then it imitated Thalia's voice: "Do they understand the words?"

Rhode felt like she was punched in the gut. Despite her and Thalia traveling together for so long, if she had heard that perfect replication of Thalia's voice asking for help, she would have gone running towards it.

That was horrifying.

The second monster spoke for Hal: "The creatures are intelligent, the way dogs are intelligent. They comprehend emotions and a few simple phrases. They can lure their prey by crying things like 'Help!' But I'm not sure how much human speech they really understand. It doesn't matter. You can't fool them."

"Send them away," Luke said. "You have a computer. Type what you want to say. If we're going to die at sunset, I don't want those things staring at me all day."

Hal hesitated. Then he turned to the monsters and stared at them in silence. After a few moments, the leucrotae snarled. They stalked out of the enclosure and the back panel closed behind them.

Hal looked at his fellow half-bloods. He spread his hands as if apologizing, or asking a question.

"Luke," Thalia said anxiously, "do you have a plan?"

"Not yet," Luke admitted, a worried look on his face. "But we'd better come up with one by sunset."

"Clocks ticking." Rhode stated, sheathing her dagger, "Best figure out what we got and can do." She said in her best brave tone, but it was easy to tell she was still shaken from the monster copying Thalia's voice.

It was an odd feeling, waiting to die. Normally when Thalia, Rhode, and Luke fought monsters, they had about two seconds to figure out a plan. The threat was immediate. They lived or died instantly. Now they had all day trapped in a room with nothing to do, knowing that at sunset those cage bars would rise and they'd be trampled to death and torn apart by monsters that couldn't be killed with any weapon. Then Halcyon Green would eat their snacks.

The suspense was almost worse than an attack.

Part of Luke was tempted to knock out the old man with his golf club and feed him to his drapes. Then at least he couldn't help the monsters lure any more demigods to their deaths. But he couldn't make himself do it. Hal was so frail and pathetic. Besides, his curse wasn't his fault. He'd been trapped in this room for decades, forced to depend on monsters for his voice and his survival, forced to watch other demigods die, all because he'd saved a girl's life. What kind of justice was that?

Don't get him wrong, Luke was still angry with Hal for luring them here, but the blond could understand why he'd lost hope after so many years. If anybody deserved a golf club across the head, it was Apollo-and all the other deadbeat parent Olympian gods, for that matter.

They took inventory of Hal's prison apartment. The bookshelves were stuffed with everything from ancient history to thriller novels.

**You're welcome to read anything,** Hal typed on his computer. **Just please not my diary. It's personal.**

He put his hand protectively on a battered green leather book next to his keyboard.

"No problem," Luke said. The boy doubted any of the books would help them, and he couldn't imagine Hal had anything interesting to write about in his diary, being stuck in this room most of his life.

He showed them the computer's Internet browser. Great. They could order pizza and watch the monsters eat the delivery guy. Not very helpful. Luke supposed they could've e-mailed someone for help, except they didn't have anyone to contact, and he'd never used e-mail. The group didn't even carry phones. They'd found out the hard way that when demigods use technology, it attracts monsters like blood attracts sharks.

They moved on to the bathroom. It was pretty clean considering how long Hal had lived here. He had two spare sets of snakeskin clothes, apparently just hand-washed, hanging from the rod above the bathtub. His medicine cabinet was stocked with scavenged supplies—toiletries, medicines, toothbrushes, first-aid gear, ambrosia, and nectar. They tried not to think about where all this had come from while searching but didn't see anything that could defeat the leucrotae.

Thalia slammed a drawer shut in frustration. "I don't understand! Why did Amaltheia bring me here? Did the other demigods come here because of the goat?"

Hal frowned. He motioned for them to follow him back to his computer. He hunched over the keyboard and typed: **What goat?**

No point in keeping it a secret really, so they told him how they followed Zeus's glowing Pepsi-dispensing goat into Richmond, and how she had pointed them to this house.

Hal looked baffled. He typed: **I've heard of Amaltheia, but don't know why she would bring you here. The other demigods were attracted to the mansion because of the treasure. I assumed you were, too.**

"Treasure?" Rhode asked with a raised brow. That sounded interesting.

Hal got up and showed them his walk-in closet. It was full of more supplies collected from unfortunate demigods—coats much too small for Hal, some old-fashioned wood-and-pitch torches, dented pieces of armor, and a few Celestial bronze swords that were bent and broken. Such a waste. Luke needed another sword.

Hal rearranged boxes of books, shoes, a few bars of gold, and a small basket full of diamonds that he didn't seem interested in. He unearthed a two-foot-square metal floor safe and gestured at it like: Ta-da.

"Can you open it?" Luke asked.

Hal shook his head.

"Do you know what's inside?" Rhode asked.

Again, Hal shook his head.

"It's trapped," Luke guessed.

Hal nodded emphatically, then traced a finger across his neck.

Luke knelt next to the safe. He didn't touch it, but the son of Hermes held his hands close to the combination lock. The boy's fingers tingled with warmth as if the box were a hot oven. He concentrated until he could sense the mechanisms inside. What he found was not good, that was for sure.

"This thing is bad news," the blond muttered. "Whatever's inside must be important."

Thalia knelt next to him. "Luke, this is why we're here." Her voice was full of excitement. "Zeus wanted me to find this."

The older boy looked at her skeptically. He didn't know how she could have such faith in her dad. Zeus hadn't treated her any better than Hermes treated him. Besides, a lot of demigods had been led here. All of them were dead.

Still, Thalia fixed him with those intense blue eyes, and the son of Hermes knew this was another time Thalia would get her way.

Luke sighed. "You're going to ask me to open it, aren't you?"

"What was your first clue, Skywalker?" Rhode rolled her eyes, "You know how demanding and huffy Thals is."

"Shut up Rhode!" said girl retorted with mock anger, but Rhode just stuck her tongue out as Thalia huffed and turned back to Luke, "Can you?"

Luke chewed his lip. Maybe next time he teamed up with someone, he should choose someone he didn't like so much. The blond just couldn't say no to Thalia.

"People have tried to open this before," the boy warned. "There's a curse on the handle. I'm guessing whoever touches it gets burned to a pile of ashes." He stated and looked up at Hal. His face turned as grey as his hair. So that was a yes it seemed. Great.

"Can you bypass the curse?" Thalia asked him as Rhode got a little closer to see the vault.

"I think so, but it's the second trap I'm worried about."

"The second trap?" Rhode asked him.

"Nobody's managed to trigger the combination," Luke informed as his blue eyes narrowed with a frown on his face. "I know that because there's a poison canister ready to break as soon as you hit the third number. It's never been activated."

Judging from Hal's wide eyes, this was news to him.

"I can try to disable it," Luke said, "but if I mess up, this whole apartment is going to fill with gas. We'll die."

Thalia swallowed. "I trust you. Just…don't mess up."

Rhode reached over and patted the boy's arm and gave him an assuring smile, saying she knew he could do it.

Luke turned to the old man. "You could maybe hide in the bathtub. Put some wet towels over your face. It might protect you."

Hal shifted uneasily. The snakeskin fabric of his suit rippled as if it were still alive, trying to swallow something unpleasant. Emotions played across his face—fear, doubt, but mostly shame. Guess he couldn't stand the idea of cowering in a bathtub while three kids risked their lives. Or maybe there was a little demigod spirit left in him after all. He gestured at the safe like: Go ahead.

Luke touched the combination lock and concentrated so hard he felt like he was dead-lifting five hundred pounds. His pulse quickened as a line of sweat trickled down his nose. Finally the gears started turning. Metal groaned, tumblers clicked, and the bolts popped back. Carefully avoiding the handle, Luke pried open the door with his fingertips and extracted an unbroken vial of green liquid.

Hal exhaled as Rhode fell on her butt in relief.

Thalia kissed Luke on the cheek, which she probably shouldn't have done while he was holding a tube of deadly poison.

"You are so good," the sky child told him.

Did that make the risk worth it? Yeah, pretty much if the goofy smile on Luke's face was anything to go by.

"You guys are doing that weird googly eyes thing again."

"Rhode, stop talking. Now."

"What? I was just saying the truth is all." Rhode admitted. Seriously, her friends were so weird at times.

Luke shook his head and looked into the safe, and some of his enthusiasm faded. "That's it?"

Thalia reached in and pulled out a bracelet. It didn't look like much, just a row of polished silver links.

"An accessory?" Rhode asked. Maybe it was a shield or something like her own? Hers was still way cooler if it was though.

Thalia latched it around her left wrist. Nothing happened and she scowled, "It should do something. If Zeus sent me here—"

Hal clapped his hands to get their attention. Suddenly his eyes looked almost as crazy as his hair. He gesticulated wildly, but they had no idea what he was trying to say. Finally he stamped his snakeskin boot in frustration and led them back to the main room.

He sat at his computer and started to type. Luke glanced at the clock on his desk. Maybe time travelled faster in the house, or maybe time just flies when you're waiting to die, but it was already past noon. Their day was half over.

Hal showed us the short novel he'd written: **You're the ones! You actually got the treasure! I can't believe it! That safe has been sealed since before I was born! Apollo told me my curse would end when the owner of the treasure claimed it! If you're the owner—**

There was more, with plenty more exclamation points, but before anyone could finish reading, Thalia said, "Hold it. I've never seen this bracelet. How could I be the owner? And if your curse is supposed to end now, does that mean the monsters are gone?"

A clack, clack, clack from the hallway answered that question.

Luke frowned at Hal. "Do you have your voice back?"

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His shoulders slumped.

"Maybe Apollo meant we're going to rescue you," Rhode exclaimed, "I mean, whatever it is, it's got to help somehow, right?"

Hal typed a new sentence: **Or maybe I die today.**

Rhode slumped at that while Luke rolled his eyes and said, "Thank you, Mr. Cheerful, I thought you could tell the future. You don't know what will happen?"

Hal typed: **I can't look. It's too dangerous. You can see what happened to me last time I tried to use my powers.**

"Sure," the blond grumbled. "Don't take the risk. You might mess up this nice life you've got here."

Luke knew that was mean. But the old man's cowardice annoyed him. He'd let the gods use him as a punching bag for too long. It was time he fought back, preferably before Thalia, Rhode and he became the leucrotae's next meal.

Hal lowered his head. His chest was shaking, and Luke realized he was crying silently.

Rhode gave him a disapproving look as Thalia shot the blond an irritated one. Geez, talk about the wrong kind of teamwork. "It's okay, Hal. We're not giving up. This bracelet must be the answer. It's got to have a special power." Thalia said to the elderly man.

Hal took a shaky breath. He turned to his keyboard and typed: **It's silver. Even if it turns into a weapon, the monsters can't be hurt by any metal.**

Luke studied the empty enclosure, the metal panel through which the monsters had exited. If the apartment door wouldn't open again, and the window was covered by man-eating acid drapes, then that panel might be their only exit. They couldn't use metal weapons. He had a vial of poison, but if he was right about that stuff, it would kill everyone in the room as soon as it dispersed. Luke ran through another dozen ideas in his head, quickly rejecting them all.

"Hal, let me borrow your computer."

Hal looked doubtful, but he gave the blond his seat.

Luke stared at the screen. Honestly, He'd never used computers much as technology tended to attract monsters. But Hermes was the god of communication, roadways, and commerce. Maybe that meant he had some power over the Internet. They could really use a divine Google hit right about now.

"Just once," Luke muttered to the screen, "cut me some slack. Show me there's an upside to being your son." He begged quietly.

"What, Luke?" Thalia asked with a blink.

"Nothing."

The Web browser opened and he started typing. Luke looked up leucrotae, hoping to find their weaknesses. The Internet had almost nothing on them, except that they were legendary animals that lured their prey by imitating human voices.

He searched for "Greek weapons." and found some great images of swords, spears, and catapults, but it was doubtful they could kill monsters with low-resolution JPEGs. Luke typed in a list of things they had in the room—torches, Celestial bronze, poison, Snickers bars, Skittles, Pop Rocks, golf club—hoping that some sort of magic formula would pop up for a leucrota death ray. No such luck. He typed in _Help me kill leucrotae_. The closest hit he got was _Help me cure leukemia_.

Luke's head was throbbing. He didn't have any concept of how long he'd been searching until he looked at the clock: four in the afternoon. How was that possible?

Meanwhile, Thalia had been trying to activate her new bracelet, with no luck. She'd twisted it, tapped it, shaken it, worn it on her ankle, thrown it against the wall, and swung it over her head with a yell of "Zeus!" Nothing happened.

Rhode was pacing restlessly. Her green eyes were wild in a way, looking stir crazy. She went to the bathroom, splashing some water on her face to calm down, but it didn't work. She felt herself on a hairs trigger as she entered the room again.

"Rhode," Thalia said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Rhode tensed like a coil, "We'll be okay."

Rhode pursed her lips, "I don't like it here." She said, her voice tight. She felt boxed in and she did not like it!

Thalia's blue eyes donned an understanding glint, "I know you hate enclosed spaces. Just keep it together for a little bit longer, okay? We'll get out of here." She said, sounding confident.

Rhode grumbled, hugging her arms tightly. Thalia pulled her into a tight hug. The daughter of Poseidon appreciated it, Thalia could always get her to calm down.

Thalia's eyes cut to Luke's, Rhode following her field of vision. They looked at each other, and they knew they were all out of ideas. Then what Hal Green had told them crawled into their minds. All demigods started off hopeful. All of them had ideas for escape. All of them failed.

Luke soldiered his shoulders, frowning with a concentrated look. He couldn't let that happen. Thalia, Rhode, and he had survived too much to give up now. But for the life of him, literally, he couldn't think of anything else to try.

Hal walked over and gestured at the keyboard.

"Go ahead," Luke said dejectedly and they changed places.

**Running out of time,** he typed. **I'll try to read the future.**

Thalia frowned. "I thought you said that was too dangerous."

**It doesn't matter, **Hal typed. **Luke is right. I'm a cowardly old man, but Apollo can't punish me any worse than he already has. Perhaps I'll see something that will help you. Thalia, give me your hands.**

He turned to her and Thalia hesitated.

Outside the apartment, the leucrotae growled and scraped against the corridor. They sounded hungry.

Thalia placed her hands in Halcyon Green's. The old man closed his eyes and concentrated. He winced, then took a shaky breath. He looked up at Thalia with an expression of sympathy. He turned to the keyboard and hesitated a long time before starting to type.

**You are destined to survive today,** Hal typed.

"That's—that's good, right?" Thalia asked. "Why do you look so sad?"

Hal stared at the blinking cursor. He typed, **Someday soon, you will sacrifice yourself to save your friends. I see things that are…hard to describe. Years of solitude. You will stand tall and still, alive but sleeping. Then you will breathe once more. Then, someday, you will find your family again.**

Thalia clenched her fists. She started to speak, then paced the room. Finally she slammed her palm against the bookshelves. "That doesn't make any sense. I'll sacrifice myself, but I'll live. Sleeping? You call that a future? I—I don't even have a family. Just my mom, and there's no way I'm going back to her."

Hal pursed his lips. He typed, **I'm sorry. I don't control what I see. But I didn't mean your mother.**

Rhode's eyes widened as Thalia almost backed up into the drapes. She caught herself just in time, but she looked dizzy, as if she'd just stepped off a roller coaster.

"Thalia?" Luke asked, as gently as he could. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

She gave this cornered look and Luke didn't understand why she seemed so rattled. The blond knew she didn't like to talk about her life back in L.A., but she'd told him she was an only child, and she'd never mentioned any relatives beside her mom.

"Thalia-" Rhode said softly, but the daughter of Zeus cut her off.

"Rhode, be quiet." She hissed, but her eyes were swarming with uncertainty. No, no, she looked, she did! All over in fact, but he wasn't anywhere. "Forget it. Hal's fortune-telling skills are rusty." Thalia said, but you could hear how even she didn't believe herself.

Rhode just moved over to her to help calm down.

"Hal," Luke said, "there's got to be more. You told us that Thalia will survive. How? Did you see anything about the bracelet? Or the goat? We need something that will help."

He shook his head sadly. He typed, **I saw nothing about the bracelet. I'm sorry. I know a little about Amaltheia the goat, but I doubt it will help. The goat nursed Zeus when he was a baby. Later, Zeus slew her and used her skin to make his shield—the aegis.**

Luke gained a thoughtful look, he remembered that story now. It seemed important, though he couldn't figure out why. "So Zeus killed his own mama goat. Typical god thing to do. Thalia, you know anything about the shield?"

She nodded, clearly relieved to change the subject. "Athena put the head of Medusa on the front of it and had the whole thing covered in celestial bronze. She and Zeus took turns using it in battle. It would frighten away their enemies."

The boy didn't see how the information could help. Obviously, the goat Amaltheia had come back to life. That happened a lot with mythological monsters—they eventually re-formed from the pit of Tartarus. But why had Amaltheia led them here?

A bad thought occurred to Luke. If he'd been skinned by Zeus, he definitely wouldn't be interested in helping him anymore. In fact, he might have a vendetta against Zeus' children. Maybe that's why Amaltheia had brought them to the mansion.

Hal Green held out his hands to Rhode. His grim expression told them it was her turn for a fortune telling.

Thalia seemed to give Rhode a look, like saying it wasn't worth it. But the daughter of Poseidon let go of her friend's hand and took a brave step forward and held out her hands.

Hal took her small hands into his clammy ones and had another concentrated look on his face. After a minute or two, he let go as he had a look of pity on his face.

That didn't make Rhode feel good at all.

Hal turned to the computer and typed, **You too shall survive today. To walk a path filled with troubles, on which wrath will be your bane. To Death's embrace and worse, shall you lose one you call brother.**

Rhode gulped at that, turning to her blue eyed friends with an unnerved look, "That's lovely." She laughed weakly. She was hoping she didn't have any brothers out there, because that sucked for them.

Luke didn't think it was, but Rhode didn't have a brother, right? Then again when have prophecies ever been clear? The old man looked to the blond boy and held out his hands to Luke.

A wave of dread washed over the boy. After hearing Thalia's and Rhode's futures, he didn't want to know his own. What if they survived, and he didn't? What if they all survived, but Thalia sacrificed herself to save them somewhere down the line, like Hal had mentioned? He couldn't bear that.

"Don't, Luke," Thalia said bitterly. "The gods were right. Hal's prophecies don't help anybody." She was still on edge and hearing Rhode's didn't fill her with any more confidence in Hal's ability.

The old man blinked his watery eyes. His hands were so frail, it was hard to believe he carried the blood of an immortal god. He had told them his curse would end today, one way or another. He'd foreseen Thalia and Rhode surviving. If he saw anything in Luke's future that would help, the boy had to try.

And with that, the son of Hermes gave his hands to the son of Apollo.

Hal took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His snakeskin jacket glistened as if it were trying to shed. Luke forced himself to calm down as he could feel Hal's pulse in his fingers—one, two, three. Hal's eyes flew open as he yanked his hands away and stared at the blond in terror.

"Okay," Luke said, his mouth going dry. "I'm guessing you didn't see anything good."

Hal turned to his computer. He stared at the screen so long you'd think he'd gone into a trance.

Finally he typed, **Fire. I saw fire.**

Thalia frowned, "Fire? You mean today? Is that going to help us?"

Hal looked up miserably and nodded.

"There's more," Luke pressed. "What scared you so badly?"

He avoided Luke's eyes. Reluctantly he typed, **Hard to be sure. Luke, I also saw a sacrifice in your future. A choice. But also a betrayal.**

The boy waited. Hal didn't elaborate.

"A betrayal," Thalia said, her tone was dangerous. "You mean someone betrays Luke? Because Luke would never betray anyone."

Hal typed, **His path is hard to see. But if he survives today, he will betray—**

Thalia roughly pulled away the keyboard. "Enough! You lure demigods here, then you take away their hope with your horrible predictions? No wonder the others gave up—just like you gave up. You're pathetic!"

Anger kindled in Hal's eyes. You wouldn't think the old man had it in him, but he rose to his feet. For a moment, it looked like he might've lunged at Thalia.

"Go ahead," Thalia growled. "Take a swing, old man. You have any fire left?"

"Stop it!" Rhode shouted loudly, getting everyone to look at her, "Just stop it okay, this fighting isn't going to do anything for us!" Hal slowly backed down as did Thalia, though she still looked like she wanted to smack the elderly demigod. Luke sighed in relief, but he could tell the old man was terrified of him now and personally, the boy didn't want to know what the old man saw.

Whatever nightmares were in the son of Hermes future, he had to survive today first.

"Fire," Luke mustered out, "You mentioned fire."

Hal nodded, then spread his hands to indicate he had no further details.

"Maybe that can hurt them!" Rhode said with a knitted brow, "I mean, Hal said that no metal can hurt them, but fire…" she trailed off. Everything had a weak spot, you just had to find it.

An idea buzzed in the back of Luke's head. Fire. Greek weapons. Some of the supplies they had in this apartment…the list he'd put into the search engine, hoping for a magic formula.

"What is it?" Thalia asked. "I know that look. You're on to something."

"Let me see the keyboard." The blond sat at the computer and did a new Web search.

An article popped up immediately.

Rhode leaned next to Luke and beamed up at him. "Luke, you're a bloody genius!"

"But I thought that stuff was just a legend?" Thalia inquired.

"Thals, we are things of legend. Duh."

"Oh shut it." Thalia said with a dull glare at the grinning Rhode.

"The problem is the recipe, we don't have it." Luke frowned at the screen, thinking of what to do.

Hal rapped his knuckles on the desk to get their attention. His face was animated. He pointed at his bookshelves.

"Ancient history books," Thalia said. "Hal's right. A lot of those are really old. They probably have information that wouldn't be on the Internet."

All four of them ran to the shelves and started pulling out books. Soon Hal's library looked like it had been hit by a hurricane, but the old man didn't seem to care. He tossed titles and flipped through pages as fast as the kids did. In fact, without him, they never would've found the answer. After lots of fruitless searching, he came racing over, tapping a page in an old leather-bound book.

Luke scanned the list of ingredients, and his excitement built. "This is it. The recipe for Greek fire."

How had he known to search for it? Perhaps his dad, Hermes, the jack-of-all-trades god, was guiding him, since the god had a way with potions and alchemy. Perhaps the blond had seen the recipe somewhere before, and searching the apartment had triggered that memory.

Everything they needed was in this room. Luke had seen all of the ingredients when we'd gone through the supplies from defeated demigods: pitch from the old torches, a bottle of godly nectar, alcohol from Hal's first-aid kit…and finally the one thing missing…

"A catalyst." The son of Hermes looked at Thalia. "We need lightning."

Her eyes widened. "Luke, I can't. Last time—"

Hal dragged them to the computer and typed, **You can summon lightning?**

"Sometimes," Thalia admitted. "It's a Zeus thing. But I can't do it indoors. And even if we were outside, I'd have trouble controlling the strike. Last time, I almost killed Luke."

Luke shivered at the mention as Rhode gave a giggling snort, getting a mock glare from the older boy.

What? She warned him not to get too close, but no, no one listens to the youngest one.

"It'll be fine." Luke tried to sound confident. "I'll prepare the mixture. When it's ready, there's an outlet under the computer. You can call down a lightning strike on the house and blast it through the electrical wiring."

"And set the house on fire," Thalia added.

"We got a bathroom," Rhode waved off, "I'll just use the pluming to put it out."

"Thank the gods we have a mini firefighter."

"I try." Rhode grinned as Thalia gave a smirk back.

Hal typed, **You'll do that anyway if you succeed. You do understand how dangerous Greek fire is?**

Rhode nodded quickly, "Read about it once or twice. It's magical fire. Whatever it touches, it burns. You can't put it out either." she answered.

"But if we can make enough for some kind of bomb and throw it at the leucrotae—" Luke trailed off.

"They'll burn." Thalia glanced at the old man. "But like Rhode said, fire can hurt them, right?"

Hal knit his eyebrows. **Indeed, it can work, **he typed.** But Greek fire will turn this room into an inferno. It will spread through the entire house in a matter of seconds.**

Luke looked at the empty enclosure. According to Hal's clock, they had roughly an hour before sunset. When those bars rose and the leucrotae attacked, they might have a chance—if the group could surprise the monsters with an explosion, and if they could somehow get around them and reach the escape panel at the back of the cage without getting eaten or burned alive. Too many ifs.

Luke's mind ran through a dozen different strategies, but he kept coming back to what Hal had said about sacrifice. The boy couldn't escape the feeling there was no way all four of them could get out alive.

"Let's make the Greek fire," the blond said with a shake of his head to clear his thoughts. "Then we'll figure out the rest."

Thalia, Rhode, and Hal helped him gather the things they needed. The group started Hal's stovetop and did some extremely dangerous cooking. Time passed too quickly. Outside in the hallway, the leucrotae growled and clacked their jaws.

The drapes on the window blocked out all sunlight, but the clock told them they were almost out of time.

Luke's face beaded with sweat as he mixed the ingredients. Every time he blinked, he remembered Hal's words on that computer screen, as if they'd been burned onto the back of his eyes: _A sacrifice in your future. A choice. But also a betrayal._

What did he mean? The boy was sure Hal hadn't told him everything. But one thing was clear: Luke's future terrified Hal.

The blond tried to focus on his work, he didn't know what he was doing, but he had little choice. Maybe Hermes was watching out for him, lending the boy some of his alchemy know-how. Or maybe he just got lucky. Finally they had a pot full of gloopy black gunk, which Luke poured into an old glass jelly jar and sealed the lid.

"There." he handed the jar to Thalia. "Can you zap it? The glass should keep it from exploding until we break the jar."

Thalia didn't look thrilled. "I'll try. I'll have to expose some wiring in the wall. And to summon the lightning, that'll take a few minutes of concentration. You guys should probably step back, in case…you know, I explode or something."

Rhode didn't look thrilled about that and glared at her. Thalia gave her a wink, promising she wouldn't.

"You better." Rhode said sternly as she moved past the male half-bloods quickly, "Got use the bathroom anyway." She mumbled, can't fight monsters with a full bladder. It just wasn't fun.

Thalia grabbed a screwdriver from Hal's kitchen drawer, crawled under the computer desk, and started tinkering with the outlet.

Hal picked up his green leather diary. He gestured for Luke to follow him. They walked to the closet doorway, where Hal took a pen from his jacket and flipped through the book. There were pages and pages of neat, cramped handwriting. Finally Hal found an empty page and scribbled something.

He handed the book to Luke.

The note read, **Luke, I want you to take this diary. It has my predictions, my notes about the future, my thoughts about where I went wrong. I think it might help you.**

Luke shook his head. "Hal, this is yours. Keep it."

He took back the book and wrote, **You have an important future. Your choices will change the world. You can learn from my mistakes, continue the diary. It might help you with your decisions.**

"What decisions?" the blond asked curiously. "What did you see that scared you so badly?"

His pen hovered over the page for a long time**. I think I finally understand why I was cursed, **he wrote.** Apollo was right. Sometimes the future really is better left a mystery.**

"Hal, your father was a jerk. You didn't deserve—"

Hal tapped the page insistently. He scribbled, **Just promise me you'll keep up with the diary. If I'd started recording my thoughts earlier in my life, I might have avoided some stupid mistakes. And one more thing—**

He set the pen in his diary and unclipped the celestial bronze dagger from his belt. He offered it to the boy.

"I can't," the blond told him. "I mean, I appreciate it, but I'm more of a sword guy. And besides, you're coming with us. You'll need that weapon."

He shook his head and put the dagger into Luke's hands. He returned to writing: **That blade was a gift from the girl I saved. She promised me it would always protect its owner.**

Hal took a shaky breath. He must've known how bitterly ironic that promise sounded, given his curse. He wrote, **A dagger doesn't have the power or reach of a sword, but it can be an excellent weapon in the right hands. I'll feel better knowing you have it.**

He met Luke's blue eyes, and the boy finally understood what he was planning. "Don't," Luke said hastily. "We can all make it out."

Hal pursed his lips and wrote, **We both know that's impossible. I can communicate with the leucrotae. I am the logical choice for bait. You, Rhode, and Thalia wait in the closet. I'll lure the monsters into the bathroom. I'll buy you a few seconds to reach the exit panel before I set off the explosion. It's the only way you'll have time.**

"No," Luke argued, he did not want this guy to give his life for them, it felt so wrong, just, not right at all!

But Hal's expression was grim and determined. He didn't look like a cowardly old man anymore. He looked like a demigod, ready to go out fighting.

Luke couldn't believe he was offering to sacrifice his life for three kids he'd just met, especially after he'd suffered for so many years. And yet, the blond didn't need pen and paper to see what he was thinking. This was his chance at redemption. He would do one last heroic thing, and his curse would end today, just as Apollo had foreseen.

He scribbled something and handed him the diary. The last word read: **Promise.**

Luke took a deep breath, and closed the book. "Yeah. I promise."

Thunder shook the house. They both jumped. Over at the computer desk, something went ZZZAP-POP! White smoke billowed from the computer, and a smell like burning tires filled the room.

Thalia sat up grinning. The wall behind her was blistered and blackened. The electrical outlet had completely melted, but in her hands, the jelly jar of Greek fire was now glowing green, "Someone order a magic bomb?" she asked.

"Well," Rhode walked in, shaking her hands as water rolled off them, amazement on her face, "At least the blast was more controlled this time."

"Shut up, Bubblehead. Water is way easier to control than lightning." Thalia huffed.

Rhode just shook her head, "Such a whiner."

"Am not!"

"Girls." Luke groaned. Man, he needed some guy friends or he was going to drown in estrogen.

Just then, the clock registered 7:03. The enclosure's bars began to rise, and the panel at the back started to open.

They were out of time.

The old man held out his hand.

"Thalia," Luke said. "Give Hal the Greek fire."

She looked back and forth between them. "But—"

"He has to." Luke's voice sounded more gravelly than usual. "He's going to help us escape."

Rhode looked at Hal with horror, "No! We can all get out." She pleaded, but Hal just shook his head. Thalia wanted to protest too, but bit her lip. She did not like this, it wasn't right, it wasn't fair.

The bars had risen halfway to the ceiling. The trapdoor ground open slowly. A red hoof thrust its way through the crack. Inside the chute, the leucrotae growled and clacked their jaws.

"There's no time," Luke warned. "Come on!"

Hal took the jar of fire from Thalia. He gave her and Rhode a brave smile, then nodded to the blond elf. Luke remembered the final word he'd written: Promise.

Luke slipped Hal's diary and dagger into his pack. Then he pulled Thalia and Rhode into the closet with him.

A split second later, they heard the leucrotae burst into the room. All three of the monsters hissed and growled and trampled across the furniture, anxious to feed.

"In here!" Hal's voice called. It must've been one of the monsters speaking for him, but his words sound brave and confident. "I've got them trapped in the bathroom! Come on, you ugly mutts!"

It was strange hearing a leucrota insult itself, but the ploy seemed to work. The creatures galloped toward the bathroom.

Luke gripped Rhode and Thalia's hands. "Now."

They burst out of the closet and sprinted for the enclosure. Inside, the panel was already closing. One of the leucrotae snarled in surprise and turned to follow them, but the kids didn't dare look back. They scrambled into the cage. Luke lunged for the exit panel, wedging it open with his golf club.

"Go, go, go!"

Rhode slid right through with ease thanks to her size and Thalia wriggled through as the metal plate started to bend the golf club.

From the bathroom, Hal's voice yelled, "You know what this is, you Tartarus scum dogs? This is your last meal!"

The leucrota landed on Luke. The boy twisted, screaming, as its bony mouth snapped at the air where his face had just been, but the blond managed to punch its snout, but it was like hitting a bag of wet cement.

Then something grabbed his arm. Thalia pulled him into the chute. The panel closed, snapping the golf club.

They crawled through a metal duct into another bedroom and stumbled for the door.

They heard Halcyon Green, shouting a battle cry: "For Apollo!"

And the mansion shook with a massive explosion.

The kids rushed into the hallway, which was already on fire. Flames licked the wallpaper and the carpet steamed. Hal's bedroom door had been blown off its hinges, and fire was pouring out like an avalanche, vaporizing everything in its path.

They reached the stairs. The smoke was so thick, they couldn't see the bottom. They stumbled and coughed, the heat searing to their eyes and lungs. They got to the base of the stairs, almost home free, when the leucrota pounced, knocking Luke flat on his back.

It must have been the one that followed them into the enclosure, it must have been far enough away from the explosion to survive the initial blast and had somehow escaped the bedroom, though it didn't look like it had enjoyed the experience. Its red fur was singed black. Its pointed ears were on fire, and one of its glowing red eyes was swollen shut.

"Luke!" Thalia screamed. She grabbed her spear, which had been lying on the ballroom floor all day, and rammed the point against the monster's ribs, but that only annoyed the leucrota.

It snapped its bone-plated jaws at them, keeping one hoof planted on Luke's chest. The boy couldn't move, and he knew the beast could crush his chest by applying even the slightest extra pressure.

Luke's eyes stung from the smoke and could hardly breathe. The blond saw Rhode summon her shield to smack the monster as Thalia continued to stab it, but a flash of metal caught Luke's eye—the silver bracelet.

Something finally clicked in Luke's mind: the story of Amaltheia the goat, who'd led them there. A shield. Thalia had been destined to find that treasure. It belonged to the child of Zeus.

"Thalia!" Luke gasped. "The shield! What was it called?"

"What shield?" she cried.

"Zeus's shield!" he suddenly remembered. "Aegis. Thalia, the bracelet—it's got a code word!"

It was a desperate guess. Thank the gods—or thank blind luck—Thalia understood. She tapped the bracelet, but this time she yelled, "Aegis!"

Instantly the bracelet expanded, flattening into a wide bronze disk—a shield with intricate designs hammered around the rim.

In the center, pressed into the metal like a death mask, was a face so hideous you would've run from it as fast as you could. Luke looked away, but the afterimage burned in his mind—hair of snakes, eyes glaring like hateful diamonds and a mouth lined with daggers.

Thalia thrust the shield toward the leucrota. The monster yelped like a puppy and retreated, freeing Luke from the weight of its hoof as Rhode quickly helped him up. Through the smoke, they watched the terrified leucrota run straight into the nearest drapes, which turned into glistening black tongues and engulfed the monster. The monster steamed. It began yelling, "Help!" in a dozen voices, probably the voices of its past victims, until finally it disintegrated in the dark oily folds.

"Hurry!" Thalia yelled as she took the stunned Luke's arm as they bolted to the door. They wondered how they were going to open the door when the avalanche of fire poured down the staircase and caught them. The building exploded and the shockwave blasted the front door open and shoved them outside.

The next thing they knew, they were sprawled in the traffic circle, coughing and gasping as a tower of fire roared into the evening sky. Luke looked for Thalia and Rhode, but instead found himself staring at the bronze face of Medusa. He screamed, somehow founding the energy to stand, and ran. He didn't stop until he was cowering behind the statue of Robert E. Lee.

Finally Thalia and Rhode caught up to him, Thalia's spear back in mace canister form, her shield reduced to a silver bracelet, Rhode's shield already back in its cuff bracelet form.

Together they stood and watched the mansion burn. Bricks crumbled. Black draperies burst into sheets of red fire. The roof collapsed and smoke billowed into the sky.

Rhode had tears streaming down her blackened face and rubbed them feverously as Thalia let loose a tear that etched through the soot on her own face, "He sacrificed himself," the older girl said. "Why did he save us?"

Luke hugged his knapsack and felt the diary and bronze dagger inside—the only remnants of Halcyon Green's life.

The boy's chest was tight, as if the leucrota was still standing on it. He'd criticized for Hal for being a coward, but in the end, he'd been braver than him. The gods had cursed him. He'd spent most of his life imprisoned with monsters. It would've been easy for him to let them die like all the other demigods before them. Yet he'd chosen to go out a hero.

Luke felt guilty that he couldn't save the old man and wished he could have talked to him longer. What had he seen in the blond's future that scared him so much?

**Your choices will change the world,** he'd warned.

Luke didn't like the sound of that.

The sound of sirens brought the kids back to their senses.

Being runaway minors, Thalia, Rhode, and Luke had a strong distrust of the police and anybody else with authority. The mortals would want to question them, so they got out of there fast.

"Come on," Luke told Thalia and Rhode.

They ran through the streets of Richmond until they found a small park. They cleaned up in the public restrooms as best they could and went to lay low until it was fully night.

They didn't talk about what had happened. Rhode looked saddened as Thalia held her hand, the daughter of Zeus herself had a defeated look on her face. They wandered in a daze through neighborhoods and industrial areas. They had no plan, no glowing goat to follow anymore, and were bone tired, but none of them felt like sleeping or stopping. They just wanted to get as far as possible from that burning mansion.

It wasn't the first time they'd barely escaped with their lives, but they'd never succeeded at the expense of another demigod's life. Luke couldn't shake his grief.

**Promise,** Halcyon Green had written.

_I promise, Hal,_ Luke thought. _I will learn from your mistakes. If the gods ever treat me that badly, I will fight back._

Okay, yes that sounds like crazy talk. But he was feeling bitter and angry. If that makes the dudes up on Mount Olympus unhappy, tough. They can come down here and tell Luke to his face.

They stopped for a rest near an old warehouse. In the dim light of the moon, the painted name on the side of the red brick building: RICHMOND IRON WORKS. Most of the windows were broken.

Thalia shivered. "We could head to our old camp," she suggested. "On the James River. We've got plenty of supplies down there."

"I just want to get out of here." Rhode said in a tiny voice tone as Luke nodded to that. It would take at least a day to get there, but it was as good a plan as any.

He split his ham sandwich for the girls, as Rhode offered her Skittles stash to him, which he ate in silence along with the girls. Luke popped a red Skittle in his mouth when he heard a faint metal ping from a nearby alley. His ears started tingling, they weren't alone.

"Someone's close by," Luke said. "Not a regular mortal."

Rhode clenched her dagger handle as Thalia tensed. "How can you be sure?"

Luke didn't answer, but got to his feet. He pulled out Hal's dagger, mostly for the glow of the celestial bronze. Rhode drew her dagger as Thalia grabbed her spear and summoned Aegis. This time the blond knew better than to look at the face of Medusa, but its presence still made his skin crawl. They didn't know if this shield was the Aegis, or a replica made for heroes—but either way, it radiated power. It was easy to understand why Amaltheia had wanted Thalia to claim it.

They crept along the wall of the warehouse and turned into a dark alleyway that dead-ended at a loading dock piled with old scrap metal.

Luke pointed at the platform.

Thalia frowned and she whispered, "Are you sure?"

The boy nodded. "Something's down there. I sense it."

"Easy with the Force lingo, Skywalker." Rhode said, getting a dry look from Luke.

Just then there was a loud CLANG. A sheet of corrugated tin quivered on the dock. Something—someone—was underneath.

The group crept toward the loading bay until they stood over the pile of metal. Thalia readied her spear as Rhode aimed her dagger. The boy gestured for them to hold back as he reached for the piece of corrugated metal and mouthed, _One, two, three!_

As soon as he lifted the sheet of tin, something flew at him—a blur of flannel and blond hair. A hammer hurtled straight at his face.

Things could've gone very wrong, fortunately Luke's reflexes were good from years of fighting. He shouted, "Whoa!" and dodged the hammer, then grabbed the little girl's wrist. The hammer went skidding across the pavement.

The little girl struggled. She couldn't have been more than seven years old.

"No more monsters!" she screamed, kicking him in the legs. "Go away!"

"It's okay!" Luke tried his best to hold her, but it was like holding a wildcat. Thalia looked too stunned to move, but Rhode put her dagger away while the older girl still had her spear and shield ready.

"Thalia," Rhode nudged her friend, "put your shield away." She scolded, "You're scaring her!"

Thalia unfroze. She touched the shield and it shrank back into a bracelet and she dropped her spear.

"Hey, little girl," Thalia said in a gentle tone that reminded Rhode when it was just to two of them, huddled together at night and she was scared. "It's all right. We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Rhode and Luke."

"Monsters!" the child wailed.

"No," Rhode promised as she knelt next to the blonde child. The poor thing wasn't fighting as hard, but she was shivering like crazy, terrified of them. "But we know about monsters," the jet-black haired girl said. "We fight them too."

Luke held her, more to comfort than restrain now and eventually she stopped kicking. She felt cold and her ribs were bony under her flannel pajamas. The boy wondered how long this little girl had gone without eating. He had thought Rhode was young when she started at eight, but this girl was even younger.

Despite her fear, the girl looked at him with large eyes. They were startlingly grey, beautiful and intelligent. A demigod—no doubt about it. Luke got the feeling she was powerful—or she would be, if she survived.

"You're like me?" she asked, still suspicious, but she sounded a little hopeful too.

"Yeah," Luke promised. "We're…" he hesitated, not sure if she understood what she was, or if she'd ever heard the word demigod. Luke didn't want to scare her even worse. "Well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"

The little girl's expression turned hard and angry. Her chin trembled. "My family hates me. They don't want me. I ran away."

Rhode's heart twisted at that, she knew that all too well, it was why she ran too. But seeing someone else like her…Luke and Thalia looked at one another and back to Rhode and they all made a silent decision right then and there. They would take care of this kid. After what had happened with Halcyon Green…well, it seemed like fate. They'd watched one demigod die for them. Now they'd found this little girl.

It was almost like a second chance.

Thalia knelt next to Rhode. She put her hand on the little girl's shoulder. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Annabeth."

"That's a pretty name," Rhode smiled as the girl sniffled a bit and looked into her sea green eyes, "And you look scrappy too." She winked, trying her best to make the girl smile and tucked some blonde hair behind the girl's ear.

"We could use a fighter like you." Luke added, seeing what Rhode was getting at.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "You could?"

"Oh, yeah," Luke said earnestly. Then a sudden thought struck him and he reached for Hal's dagger and pulled it from his belt. It will protect its owner, Hal had said. He had gotten it from the little girl he had saved. Now fate had given them the chance to save another little girl.

"How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon?" the older blond asked her. "This is celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."

Annabeth took the dagger and studied it in awe. Okay, yes she was seven years old at most. What was Luke thinking giving her a weapon? But she was a demigod. They had to defend themselves. Hercules was only a baby when he strangled two snakes in his cradle. By the time Luke was nine, he'd fought for his life a dozen times. Rhode and Thalia had been fighting since they were kids too, so why not?

"Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," Luke told her, his voice caught as he remembered Hal Green, and how he'd died to save them. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

Annabeth beamed at him, and for that instant, all Luke's problems seemed to melt. He felt as if he'd done one thing right. Luke swore to himself that he would never let this girl come to harm.

"I am clever!" she said.

Rhode patted Annabeth's arm, "I bet. I use one too, so I got a few tricks if you want to learn that is."

Annabeth nodded her head so fast, her blonde hair shook in excitement.

Thalia laughed and tousled the girl's hair. Just like that—they had a new companion, "We'd better get going, Annabeth," Thalia said. "We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

Annabeth's smile wavered. For a moment, she had a wild look in her eyes again. "You're…you're not going to take me back to my family? Promise?"

Luke swallowed the lump out of his throat. Annabeth was so young, but she'd learned a hard lesson, just like Thalia, Rhode, and he had. Their parents (or relatives) had failed them. The gods were harsh and cruel and aloof. Demigods had only each other.

The blond put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You're part of our family now. And I promise I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"

"Deal!" she said happily, clutching her new dagger.

Thalia picked up her spear and smiled at Luke with approval. "Now, come on. We can't stay put for long!"

"Yeah," Rhode nodded and wrapped her arm around the younger girl's shoulder, "Let me tell you some funny stuff about these two." She pointed to Luke and Thalia, "Us younger kids need to stick together, they can be such weirdoes!"

"No we aren't!" Thalia declared with a glare, "Don't corrupt her, Rho."

"Please, if anything, that would be you, Thals." Rhode brushed off as Annabeth giggled at the exchange.

"Why you little-!"

Luke gave a smile, yeah, he had one heck of a family.

And to be honest, he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

"So let's get into how Luke's sword and acid didn't mix so well."

On second thought…

"Rhode!"

* * *

><p>Currently Luke was on guard duty and writing in Halcyon Green's diary—his diary, about today's adventure.<p>

They were camping in the woods south of Richmond. Tomorrow, they'd press on to the James River and restock their supplies. After that…the blond didn't know. Luke kept thinking about Hal Green's predictions. An ominous feeling weighed on his chest, there was something dark in his future. It may be a long way off, but it felt like a thunderstorm on the horizon, supercharging the air. Luke just hoped he'd have the strength to take care of his friends.

Looking at Thalia, Rhode, and Annabeth asleep by the fire, he was amazed how peaceful their faces were. Annabeth and Rhode were bundled together as the daughter of Poseidon had taken a shine to the girl instantly. Annabeth was huddled into Rhode as the girl was resting her head on Annabeth's, though she was drooling.

Yeah, Rhode drooled in her sleep, Luke found out the hard way and Thalia never let him forget it while laughing her butt off.

Perhaps in the morning, Annabeth would learn too. It seemed like some weird initiation for this rag tag group of theirs.

Responsibility weighed on Luke's shoulders as he gazed at his new family. His blue eyes narrowed determinedly, more then willing to accept the burden. He would keep his new family together, no matter what.

Luke look towards the north and imagined how long it would take to get to his mom's house in Westport, Connecticut, from here. He wonder what she was doing right now. She was in such a bad state of mind when he left.…

But he couldn't feel guilty about leaving her. He had to. If he ever met his dad, they were going to have a conversation about that.

For now, he'll just have to survive day to day. He'll write in this diary when he had the chance, though he doubted anyone would ever read it.

Luke shook his hand as it cramped up from writing so much. The stirring of Thalia drew his attention, it was her turn for guard duty. That was good, he needed some sleep.

Rhode mumbled in her sleep and started to nibble on Annabeth's blonde hair, getting her to squirm, kicking her little feet.

Okay, that was going to be funny to see in the morning, without a doubt.

Now where was one of Rhode's cameras…

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, thank you Sieg for your stupendous editing job.<strong>

**Nothing much to say, except that Big Hero 6 was awesome! Gods, I love Gogo. **

**This chapter was based off The Diary of Luke Castellan from the Demigod Diaries. Hoped you liked it XD  
><strong>

****Now please review, no flames, and peace off.****


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey**

**Prologue: Loss**

**Beta: Siegfried01**

**Edited: 12/18/14**

* * *

><p>The group of demigods managed to make it to the safe house by the James River with no complications thankfully, monster or mortal. Said safe house was rather simple, nothing more than a tarp covered with branches and leaves as a roof hidden behind a woven circlet of more branches; a lamp, an icebox, a couple of kid-sized sleeping bags along with some spare cloths and blankets along with a couple of assorted weapons and medical supplies: just some choice supplies that Rhode and Thalia managed to snag over their travels.<p>

Currently Annabeth was clothed in a pair of slightly too-long jeans and an oversized army-themed jacket with a red tee that went almost to her knees underneath it. The glaring difference in size was due to the fact that Rhode was the one closest to her in body size, and even then the daughter of the sea had at least half a head over the girl.

Their newest traveling companion was very pouty when she woke up covered in drool, glaring at Rhode as best as she could; in all honesty all it made her do was look adorable.

Turned out that Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle. The little girl said that she was claimed at birth, or that's what her dad had told her. Annabeth didn't like talking about him very much. All they knew was after Annabeth ran away, she said that Athena had guided and protected her for a while until the group found the young blonde in Richmond.

To appease the irate girl Rhode had offered to read her a book. Hey, she was a daughter of Athena so it had to work, right?

Apparently it did, and Rhode made sure to file that away for later, as Annabeth was currently perched in Rhode's lap as the older girl read a copy of the Iliad that Luke had stolen aloud in Ancient Greek for the small blonde. Annabeth quickly became fascinated by the story, asking for help with a few words that she didn't know.

Seeing Annabeth's eyes start to droop slightly, Rhode grinned. "Having fun, Bethy?"

"Stop calling me that!" The blonde whined, pouting as she did. Thalia and Rhode had taken it onto themselves to annoy her constantly with their nicknames. Originally she thought that having a nicknames would've been fun. Obviously she hadn't taken into account that two certain daughters of the sky and sea were the ones doing the naming.

Honestly! Annie and Bethy? Those names were stupid, and extremely annoying! Especially when the cousins sung it together. Her name was Annabeth; not Annie-Bethy!

"Nope," Rhode smirked as she closed her book, "as founding members of this little band of misfits, Thalia and I have all the nickname privileges. Especially cute ones."

"They're dumb!" Annabeth huffed as she crossed her tiny arms, standing up to make her slightly taller than Rhode who as still sitting.

"No, not really," the daughter of the sea snickered, gaining her another pout from the blonde scion of Athena.

Annabeth opened her mouth, most likely to shoot another retort, when a fluttering of feathers distracted her and she squeaked as a weight landed on her head. "Gah! Get it off!" She shrieked, flailing her arms wildly, causing Luke and Thalia to pause from their task of taking an inventory of their supplies.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked with his new sword out but blinked, "Um…"

There was a brown owl with a letter in its mouth roosting on Annabeth's head.

Said owl choked out a hoot from behind the large envelop made out of some kind of thick brown paper before dropping the envelop into Rhode's lap.

"Did that owl just deliver your mail?" Thalia asked incredulously as she retracted her spear, absentmindedly tucking the can of mace back into her pocket. As if understanding her, the owl bobbed its head at Rhode.

"I…think so."

"It could be mine!" Annabeth stated, "My mommy could've sent it!" Fluffing its feathers, the owl settled onto her hair before hooting sadly, shaking its head.

"I guess not, according to the owl." Rhode pointed out as she picked up the letter.

"To Rhode Jasmine Potter." she struggled to read the cursive font, it was a right bugger on her dyslexia. The green eyed child frowned though, she didn't use the Potter name for years, "James River, Virginia." The girl looked at her friends as they wondered how the heck it knew where she was, "Left side northern corner of the shack…okay this is getting weird. Like really, really weird." Rhode said as she looked around, worried she was being stalked.

"Rhode," Thalia said, walking up to her, "Maybe you should rip it up, or just throw it away." She stated cautiously, "Who knows what could be in it."

"That would be best." Luke nodded in agreement.

Rhode turned the letter around and read, "Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Magic school?" Luke and Annabeth asked, one in disbelief the other in child-like wonder.

"Yep," Rhode pulled out the letter.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
>Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)<em>

_Dear Ms. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

"Is this a joke?" Rhode let out a laugh.

Thalia snorted along in agreement, "I think so, it has to be some kind of prank."

Annabeth cocked her head to the side, thinking. It was a pretty weird joke. Luke was thinking along the same lines.

"Is it though?" the blond said, getting questioning looks from the older girls of the group. At the looks, he said, "I mean, someone just happened to train an owl to deliver Rhode mail about some magic school?" A look of doubt came to his face.

Thalia's brow knitted at that as she glanced at the owl, "But Luke, come on, magic school?" she said. It sounded ludicrous.

The owl on Annabeth's head hooted at her. Thalia just glared at it, "Shut up. Before we decide on owl stew for dinner tonight."

Annabeth glared at Thalia for that, but the older girl ignored her.

The blond boy shrugged, "We _are_ half-bloods. Who knows, right?" There was plenty of weird stuff out there.

Rhode frowned, "What should we do then?"

"I say we just burn it," the daughter of Zeus commented.

The owl hooted angrily at Thalia, "Bird, I will Kentucky fry you. Shut it." She snapped as her hand flickered with static.

The owl shut its beak.

Rhode looked at the letter cautiously, all them were giving it uneasy looks. "I'll reply, just in case." She said. The daughter of the sea took out a pencil and scribbled: Is this a joke? Either way, No!

Stuffing the letter back into the envelope, Rhode said, "Here," Giving it to the owl.

The owl gave a sad hoot, taking the letter and flying away.

* * *

><p>The group was making their way through Pennsylvania and had stopped to take a break in an open field. Next to their field a stream slithered its way lazily around the surrounding hills as the summer flowers danced in the light breeze. It had been several days now since Annabeth had joined them too.<p>

The screech of metal meeting metal echoed out, breaking the peaceful atmosphere.

Sidestepping a thrust from Thalia's spear, Luke struck the side of the shaft, sending Thalia off balance as he quickly followed up with a jab to her ribs. Using the momentum from her stumble, Thalia used the other end of her spear to parry, twirling around and sending a trifecta of swift stabs at Luke, forcing him on the defensive.

Spinning her spear, Thalia sent the tip rocketing down at Luke like the axe of an executioner, forcing him to roll away. Her jacket had been discarded for this spar, showing off her Rolling Stones tee, giving her a wider range of movement.

"Go Luke!" Annabeth cheered from her place off to the side, Rhode was sitting next to her, her eyes razor sharp as she scanned the duel. She smirked as Luke sent a flurry of slashes at Thalia, the daughter of Zeus using her superior reach to parry them with ease and retaliate almost instantly. Immediately gaining the momentum in this battle.

"Hey, Bethy," the daughter of Poseidon grinned, drawing her little friend's attention, "I bet you my Skittles for your Hersey Bar that Thalia will win in…" Rhode scanned the fight again, "under the next minute."

"What?" Annabeth blinked, "No way, it's pretty even." She disagreed.

"So no bet?"

"…Your Skittles will be mine."

The two girls shook on it, turning back to the fight.

Thalia reared back to avoid a slash, sweat flying off her skin. Swinging the butt of her spear at Luke's knees, she smirked viciously when the son of Hermes wince and stumbled at the hit.

The daughter of Zeus capitalized on this by slammed the butt of her spear into his diaphragm. Luke expelled some air as he fell onto his back, his sword kicked out of his hand. He tried to get back up, but Thalia's steel toed boot found its way on his chest, keeping him down.

Luke's Adam's apple bounced nervously as the tip of her spear poked it gently.

"Aannd…I win," Thalia grinned, panting slightly. Patting Luke's check teasingly with the flat of her spear, her smirk grew wider as Luke grumbled. "Again."

"What's the score?" She teased, twirling her spear like a conductor's baton. Luke's answer was to shove himself to his knees, grumbling even more. Nodding self-assuredly, she smiled. "Yep!" She said, popping the 'P' as her smile turned lopsided, "Me? A lot. You? None. C'mon Luke, up your game," she teased, digging the point of her spear into the dirt as she gave him a hand.

The blond boy accepted it and grunted, standing up and bent down for his sword, sheathing it, "I am, you just like to beat me up."

"Someone has to." The raven haired girl stated, leaning against the black shaft of her weapon.

"I think he enjoys getting his butt whooped."

"Rhode!" Luke exclaimed, cheeks flustered at the thought.

Thalia was the same, but snuffed out the color quickly and glared at her best friend, "Very funny, Bubblehead."

Rhode shrugged, "Just an observation." She said, getting Thalia to shake her head. The black haired girl looked to Annabeth, "So, Bethy, that Hersey Bar, please." She held out her palm.

Annabeth grumbled and shifted through her small backpack. She pulled out the chocolate bar and gave it to Rhode, pouting the whole way.

"Thank you for your business." The daughter of Poseidon smiled, stashing it in her bag.

"Rhode, you're up." Thalia said.

Rhode blinked, "Want to take a breather first?"

"Nah, I'm in the zone. Plus, you could use the handicap."

Rhode shed off her green and yellow hoodie, pulling out her Pez Dispenser, "Oh, we'll see." She grinned, summoning her spear.

Luke moved and sat next to Annabeth and wiped his sweat covered brow. He noticed she was glaring at him, "What?"

"I lost a Hersey Bar because of you…you couldn't last ten seconds longer?"

Luke just stared at her dryly, "You were honestly betting on us?"

"Yes." Annabeth pouted, crossing her little arms. She'd have to re-evaluate betting on Luke again.

The blond rolled his icy blue eyes, "Well, Thalia's tough. It happens."

He got an accusing finger pointed at him for his troubles, "Excuses…you owe me a Hersey Bar."

"Let's just watch the duel." The son of Hermes smooth talked, making Annabeth draw her eye greys away from him.

Rhode and Thalia were about three meters apart as they circled another. Thalia at her spear pointing forward, her left hand on the middle of the shaft as her right was in the back, ready to thrust.

Rhode was in a similar stance, but her spear was set up in a more slashing angle as her left hand clasped tightly near the back of the light brown shaft, her right palm cradled the wood just mid-way towards the tip.

There was just silence as the wind swept by and Thalia took the initiative, going for a thrust, but Rhode, bashed it away, swinging the butt of her weapon towards Thalia's head. Her cousin ducked, backing off a few steps and charged in once more.

Rhode side stepped and swung her weapon in a flurry of slashes, aiming low and high randomly, keeping Thalia on her toes as she dodged and swatted the attacks away.

Despite the duel happening, a smile came to Rhode's face. She loved this, her blood was pumping with excitement, the rush of her movements, putting her skills to the test.

And showing Thalia just how tough she was.

When Thalia and Rhode usually dueled, the daughter of Zeus would usually win. Occasionally, with a little trickery or with some water, Rhode could pull off a win. But even then, it was difficult. Mainly because static hurt! Like, a lot!

But no tricks this time, she was going to win. Rhode knew it!

She went for a jab and twisted out of the way of Thalia's returning thrust. Thalia swung low, making Rhode hop back and bend her knees, lunging with a thrust.

The daughter of Zeus moved, batting the spear away as she swung the butt of her own weapon at Rhode's arm, which she ducked under with a roll.

Rhode broke the engagement, taking a few paces back, almond-shaped eyes narrowed, but her smile still in place.

Thalia also had a smile as she spin her spear a little and pressed her aggressive assault as she went for a piercing strike.

Rhode did the same, their spearheads scraping one another as they veered off course. They were close as Thalia went for a punch. Rhode swayed out of the way and kicked Thalia in the shin.

"Ow!" Thalia yelped, hopping back a little, glaring at the impish look on Rhode's face, "Oh it is so on now."

"I thought it already was?"

"I'm so whooping your butt."

They grinned at one another and got back to the fight.

Annabeth was awed by how the two girls of the Big Three were going at it. The blonde wanted to fight like that someday.

Luke took a sip of water as the duel went on, neither girl backing down and looking like they were having a blast.

Rhode went for a strike at Thalia's knee, which was blocked, but she spun around the block. A glint caught Thalia's eye as she lashed out her free hand, block the spear strike and caught Rhode's hand that held her dagger.

She wrenched it out of Rhode's hand and swept her legs from under. Rhode fell on her back with a grunt.

The daughter of Poseidon was about to get up, but Thalia pinned down her body and arms by pressing the shaft of her spear against her, "And I win." Thalia grinned, panting from the fight. Sweat dripped from the tip of her nose. "I hate it when you use your dagger, I gotta be extra careful. Still, you're getting way better." She complimented with a wink.

Plus, she was feeling pretty winded, so Thalia had to finish the fight fast.

Rhode was also panting, blinking out some sweat. Her lips formed a pout, "I'll win next time." She assured.

"Sure." Thalia playfully rolled her blue eyes, brushing off her bravado. A second later, her face was doused in a splash from the small stream they were near. Thalia sputtered and spat out water. Under her damp bangs, Thalia glared at the innocently smiling Rhode.

"You looked hot. Just wanted to cool you down."

"Why you little-!"

"Ah!" Rhode cried out as Thalia pulled her in a headlock and they started to wrestle.

"Think that was funny?"

"Yes!" Rhode shot back, trying to wiggle out of the hold.

"Dry me!"

"Bleh!"

The blonds in the distance were laughing at the mock fight the two were having.

"Come on, Rhode!" Annabeth cheered with a giggle.

"Go Thalia!" Luke whistled as the two cousins were rolling around in the grass, struggling to get a hold on one another.

"Noggie!" Thalia declared.

Rhode yelped, "Ow! Wet Willy!"

"Ew, ah, gross! Indian Burn!"

"Ouch, ow! Wedgie!"

"Hey! Not the boxers!"

Even with their juvenile fighting, the two girls were laughing the entire time.

* * *

><p>The four demigods were running through the woods in Westport, Connecticut. All of them were beaten up since they'd been in some battles.<p>

"Just a little farther!" Luke promised. Annabeth stumbled, and he took her hand. Rhode was in the middle as she was holding her spear in her right hand while cradling her left hand that was swollen and angled in a way it shouldn't be. Thalia brought up the rear, brandishing her shield as she was driving back the monsters chasing them while limping on her left leg.

The latest monster attack had gotten them by surprise and Thalia got injured. Rhode had gone ballistic at that and destroyed five of the monsters in fury while busting her hand in the process.

They scrambled to a ridge and looked down the other side at a white Colonial house.

"All right," Luke said, breathing hard. "I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. Wait here."

"Luke, are you sure?" Thalia asked. "You swore you'd never come back here. If she catches you -"

"We don't have a choice!" he growled. "They burned our nearest safe house. And you've got to treat that leg wound and Rhode needs her hand healed."

"This is your house?" Annabeth said with amazement.

"It was my house," Luke muttered. "Believe me, if it wasn't an emergency -"

"Is your mom really horrible?" Annabeth asked curiously. "Can we see her?"

"No!" Luke snapped.

Annabeth shrank away from him since his anger surprised her. Rhode wrapped her steady arm around her and glared at Luke. She knew they were stressed out and tired, but they couldn't lose it with each other, not now.

"I…I'm sorry," the blond amended with haggard eyes, "Just wait here. I promise everything will be okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be back -"

A brilliant golden flash illuminated the woods. The demigods winced, and a man's voice boomed: "You should not have come home."

"What was that?" Rhode muttered as she held Annabeth closely while scanning around as Thalia and Luke did the same.

"I don't know." The boy muttered with weary icy blue eyes, "Let's…Let's just get the stuff and get out, fast."

It was what they intended to do at least, until the group met their first Olympian.

Hermes, the messenger god, stood in the old home of Luke along with this tall old woman that was as thin as a scarecrow, had weird cloudy eyes, and had white hair that stuck out in tufts all over her head.

Her name was May.

In May's living room, candles flickered on the fireplace mantel, reflected in the mirrors along the walls. In the kitchen, Thalia was sitting at the table while Ms. Castellan bandaged her wounded leg. Annabeth sat next to her, playing with a Medusa beanbag toy as Rhode played with the blonde as her hand rested in a bowl of water, healing her busted wrist.

Hermes and Luke stood apart in the living room.

The god's face looked liquid in the candlelight, like he couldn't decide what shape to adopt in front of his son. He was dressed in a navy blue jogging outfit with winged Reeboks.

"Why show yourself now?" Luke demanded. His shoulders were tense, as if he expected a fight. "All these years I've been calling to you, praying you'd show up, and nothing. You left me with her." He pointed toward the kitchen like he couldn't bear to look at his mother, much less say her name.

"Luke, do not dishonor her," Hermes warned sternly, icy blue eyes narrowed. "Your mother did the best she could. As for me, I could not interfere with your path. The children of the gods must find their own way."

"So it was for my own good. Growing up on the streets, fending for myself, fighting monsters."

"You're my son," Hermes said proudly. "I knew you had the ability. When I was only a baby, I crawled from my cradle and set out for -"

"I'm not a god! Just once, you could've said something. You could've helped when-" Luke took an unsteady breath, lowering his voice so no one in the kitchen could overhear "-when she was having one of her fits, shaking me and saying crazy things about my fate. When I used to hide in the closet so she wouldn't find me with those . . . those glowing eyes. Did you even care that I was scared? Did you even know when I finally ran away?"

In the kitchen, Ms. Castellan chattered aimlessly, pouring Kool-Aid for Thalia, Rhode, and Annabeth as she told them stories about Luke as a baby. Thalia rubbed her bandaged leg nervously. Rhode looked uncomfortable, fingering her pearl just as nervously. Annabeth glanced into the living room and held up a burned cookie for Luke to see. She mouthed, Can we go now?

"Luke, I care very much," Hermes said slowly, "but gods must not interfere directly in mortal affairs. It is one of our Ancient Laws. Especially when your destiny . . ." His voice trailed off. He stared at the candles as if remembering something unpleasant.

"What?" Luke asked. "What about my destiny?"

"You should not have come back," Hermes muttered. "It only upsets you both. However, I see now that you are getting too old to be on the run without help. I'll speak with Chiron at Camp Half-Blood and ask him to send a satyr to collect you."

"We're doing fine without your help," Luke growled and balled his fists. "Now, what were you saying about my destiny?"

The wings on Hermes's Reeboks fluttered restlessly. He studied his son like he was trying to memorize his face, "My son," he said, "I'm the god of travelers, the god of loads. If I know anything, I know that you must walk your own path, even though it tears my heart."

"You don't love me."

Hermes looked as though he'd been struck, "I promise I . . . I do love you. Go to camp. I will see that you get a quest soon. Perhaps you can defeat the Hydra, or steal the apples of Hesperides. You will get a chance to be a great hero before . . ."

"Before what?" Luke's voice was trembling now. "What did my mom see that made her like this? What's going to happen to me? If you love me, tell me."

Hal had only hinted, and it horrified the man. If Hermes, a god, knew Luke's so called destiny, than he should say it!

Hermes's expression tightened. "I cannot."

The boy's eyes widened, his chest felt like it was being twisted, "Than you don't care!" Luke yelled.

In the kitchen, the talking died abruptly.

"Luke?" May Castellan called. "Is that you? Is my boy all right?"

Luke turned to hide his face, but he had tears in his eyes. "I'm fine. I have a new family. I don't need either of you."

"I'm your father," Hermes insisted, almost pleadingly.

"A father is supposed to be around. I've never even met you. Thalia, Rhode, Annabeth, come on! We're leaving!"

"My boy, don't go!" May Castellan called after him. "I have your lunch ready!"

Luke stormed out the door, Thalia, Rhode, and Annabeth scrambling after him. May Castellan tried to follow, but Hermes held her back.

Rhode looked back and saw that Hermes was almost in tears, biting his lip to prevent himself from shouting after Luke. A part of Rhode couldn't help but feel sorry for the god. She frowned and turned towards her group, following them in a hurry. She inwardly wondered how her meeting with her own father would go. She hoped it wasn't going to be like this.

Hermes held May's thrashing body, who was crying out for her child. He could only swallow heavily as his heart ached over what had transpired with Luke.

* * *

><p>As the group left, they could still hear May's screams as Luke was feverishly wiping his eyes. He felt a tug on his sleeve and saw a worried Annabeth looking up at him, "Are you okay, Luke?" she asked in a worried voice with those big grey eyes.<p>

The blond swallowed heavily, "Yeah," he pushed out as he tried his best to smile for Annabeth, to make her not worry about him, "Just, just a little tired, kiddo." He ruffled her blonde hair.

"Let's find a safe location for camp, guys." Rhode said, hefting her pack.

"I'm all for that." Thalia said, rubbing her wrapped up wound, "Need to rest this off and we could all get some sleep."

"I'll take watch." Luke said with finality, he really didn't want sleep right now anyway.

They later found a clearing and set up camp. Annabeth fell asleep the fastest as she rested in Rhode's lap and the sea child stroked her blonde hair kindly. Thalia was laying down on her bag as Luke was poking the ground with a stick as night was soon setting in.

"Luke-"

"Not now Rhode, please." The boy said with a pained tone. Begging her not to ask the question she had on her mind.

Thalia and Rhode looked at one another. Luke had told them about his mom, her fits and the glowing eyes, the strange things she would say, he made them promise not to tell anyone. Annabeth was so young, she probably didn't even understand what had just happened except that Luke was upset with his parents.

If he didn't want to talk about, that was fine. As long as they were there, showing he had a family, that was the best they could do for the blond boy right now.

"Just get some sleep, Rhode." Thalia added, not wanting to bother Luke, this was a major event for him. He needed to calm down for tomorrow.

They didn't understand why, but the monster attacks were getting more frequent.

"Right." Rhode nodded and gently laid Annabeth on her bag. The daughter of Poseidon laid down too, being mindful not to drool on the blonde.

Tomorrow was another day, just another day to try and survive.

* * *

><p>After that night the group left his mom's house, Luke had changed. He just kept being reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. It didn't matter what Thalia or Rhode told him, he just kept picking fights with every monster they crossed. Annabeth didn't seem to understand what was going on or why her older friends were arguing.<p>

Wasn't killing monsters good?

But one night they were attacked, again. These giant black dogs the size of rhinos with molten red eyes had found them. There were six of them. The older kids took two each while Annabeth stayed back for her safety. Even with learning a thing or two about using her dagger from Rhode, the plucky blonde wasn't ready for vicious Hellhounds yet.

One of the massive dog lunged at Rhode, but she held her shield firmly in front of her with her spear at the ready. Just as it was about to land on her, Rhode rolled forward and pushed her spear up at the dog, stabbing it right in the gut. It landed in a heap and melted into shadows.

The second black hound, baring its savage maw, pounced at Rhode. She side stepped, bashing it in the face with her shield and sliced off an ear with her spear. The hellish beast howled in pain and growled throatily, charging at her once more, baring its sharp claws.

The daughter of Poseidon rolled out of the way and dismissed her shield. The black dog turned around only to get a dagger in the face, killing it. Rhode was posed on her knee, her right hand stretched out after throwing her dagger with great accuracy.

"Rhode," Annabeth cheered and run up to her friend since all the monsters were gone, "That was so cool!" she said in her squeaky voice.

Rhode smiled and patted her small friend, "Thanks, Bethy."

Luke pulled his sword out of the ground after his final stab while Thalia wiped her brow since she had finished her opponents too.

"Well, that was fun." Thalia said sarcastically and turned to Rhode and Annabeth to tell them to regroup but her voice died in her throat as her electric blue eyes widened in horror.

Luke saw it too and shouted, "Move!" he told them.

Rhode turned. They had miscounted. There were seven of them.

The daughter of Poseidon could have held up her spear maybe, but all her instincts did was push Annabeth roughly out of the way and bring out her shield once more.

Her friends cried out her name as Rhode tensed behind her defense, waiting for the collision. But it never came. There was a whistling in the air, followed by a dozen thwacks, and then something landed roughly.

Rhode looked from behind her shield and saw that about a dozen silver arrows had skewered the monster dog as it melted into the night. She looked to where the arrows came up and up on the nearby hill were about maybe a dozen and a half girls. They were wearing white shirts, silver jackets, silvery camo pants and black combat boots while holding silver bows. The strangest thing about them was they had this silvery glow about them that made the girls seem regal in a way as the moon shone brightly.

"Four half-bloods, Milady." One had said with some kind of accent, Rhode couldn't really place it, but it sounded old-fashioned. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose.

The one she had addressed looked only a bit older then Rhode, probably Thalia's age. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it was something you would see in a painting or a sculpture, but her expression was stern and dangerous.

"I see, Zoë." The clear leader of the group said as she looked at the group of demigods, "It seems to be a roaming group."

"They're both here." The girl, Zoë, said looking at Thalia and Rhode intently.

"Indeed." The leader said, her lips curling into a small smile.

Thalia got in front of Rhode and Annabeth as Luke walked up behind her. The daughter of Zeus said, "Who are you guys?" she demanded, her eyes suspicious and body tense for these unknowns, despite helping their group.

The girl named Zoë frowned, like Thalia had said something wrong. But the leader just raised her hand in the air to halt her words, "Calm yourself, Zoë. They are on edge from just fighting a pack of hellhounds and are ignorant of us." The shorter girl said softly and walked down the hill and stood before Thalia, "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt. These are my hunters." She addressed to the girls behind her.

"What?" Thalia said, dumbfounded.

That was what Rhode was thinking too. But also, if she was a goddess…Why was she so short?

Artemis announced. "Zoë, we will rest here for tonight. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded."

"Yes, my lady."

* * *

><p>The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats. Falcons watched them from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight like they were on guard duty too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess' will. The air was still hot, but not as bad as before and the bright moon seemed to complement the fire pleasantly.<p>

A broad ginger with milky skin called Phoebe was summoned over by Zoë to deal with healing any injuries they might have suffered. Thankfully it wasn't much; the worse among them was Annabeth who had a cut on her check but that was healed in a second, the rest of them just had a couple of scratches.

Though, Phoebe didn't even glance at Luke, she simply tossed him a roll of gauze for the cut on his arm; when she did though, her eyes shone with disgust. This of course caused some tension between her and the girls, Thalia forcing her fist not to break out into sparks.

"Thalia Grace, Rhode Evans." The old-fashion voice of Zoë said, getting the two girls to look at her.

"Just Thalia." Thalia said on reflex and Zoë nodded.

"Follow me, Lady Artemis wishes to speak with you two."

"What about us?" Annabeth asked the hunter, looking up at her.

Zoë gave her this soft smile, "I'm sorry little one, but our goddess wishes to speak with these two, alone."

"Okay." Annabeth nodded reluctantly as Luke frowned, wondering what the goddess wanted.

Rhode and Thalia stood up and walked behind Zoë as she led them to the last tent, which looked no different from the others.

"So, who are you?" Thalia asked the hunter.

"I am Zoë Nightshade, Lady Artemis' Lieutenant. While Milady is away on her godly duties, I am in charge of the Hunters."

"That's pretty cool." Rhode commented, getting a slight smirk from the hunter.

"Indeed." She answered and waved them inside.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others the girls didn't recognize. It looked like Artemis had another animal pelt lying next to her, but it was a live animal - a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in the goddess' lap.

"Join me, Thalia Grace, Rhode Evans," the goddess said.

"Just Thalia." The daughter of Zeus said again, never liking her surname as usual. Both girls sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied them, which was kind of weird if Rhode was honest. She had such old eyes for a young girl.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked them.

"Uh... a little." Rhode admitted. Thalia nodded in agreement.

"I could appear as a grown woman or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" Thalia asked with a raised brow.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, and insecure. Forget themselves." The goddess answered as Zoë sat down at Artemis' right.

"Oh." The raven-haired girl said with a furrowed brow.

"Boys are weird." Rhode said with a nod. She still remembered the talk that she and Thalia had about babies.

Artemis and Zoë seemed amused by this, "Indeed they are, young Rhode." The goddess smiled a small smile.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Thalia asked, as blunt as a two by four, just wanting to get down to business as to why a goddess wanted to see them personally.

"Ah, straight to the point. I like that." The goddess nodded, "It is simple, I wish for you two to join the hunt."

Thalia and Rhode looked at one another and back to the goddess, "The hunt?" Thalia asked, unsure what she meant.

"My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, and my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me."

"So, what's so great about the hunt?" the punkette asked, leaning back as she supported herself on her palms.

"To begin with," Zoë said with a smirk, "immortality."

Thalia stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?" but she sounded intrigued by the idea.

"Zoë rarely kids about anything," Artemis said with a shake of her head, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips, "My hunters are indeed immortal...unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" Rhode said curiously.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," the goddess answered. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?"

The goddess nodded.

Thalia looked at the goddess after a moment of thought, "So you recruit demigods like us?"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoë explained. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals."

"So, like a melting pot?" Rhode said in thought.

Zoë paused for a moment, then nodded, "Tis a reasonable example." And then continued, "You become naturally stronger and faster than any mortal, demigod, or nymph." Zoë said, her words were like honey, "Your skills with a bow grow greatly, and most of all, we hunt the monsters, they flee from us in fear."

Thalia's eyes glazed in thought, she was liking this more and more. Getting back at all the monsters that terrorized them when they were younger, being so strong…yeah, that sounded good.

Rhode thought it sounded a lot like the Lost Boys, never growing up, just having fun. No more running, no more hiding, a goddess watching over her…maybe even like a parent.

Not that she didn't love her dad! But, after surviving for three years and just praying to him, well, she just wanted to meet him, ask him questions…know what he looks like. Okay, maybe that was selfish of her since he was a god and had godly things to do, like rule the sea. Rhode guessed she should be grateful he answered her prayers at least.

Thalia shook out of her thoughts, "But, what about our friends?" she asked.

Artemis frowned, "For Athena's daughter, normally I do not recruit so young. They do not understand the choice at such an age and it would be unjust of me to bind a child of her age bracket. Care for them I most certainly will. But to invite them? Well, in the future hopefully."

"And Luke?" Thalia asked.

Zoë spoke up, "He will either find his way on his own or die." Her words were blunt and unforgiving, shocking the younger girls at how casually she said them.

Artemis gave her faithful friend a side-glance for the latter comment, but did not disagree.

"What? No!" Thalia shouted, getting to her feet, "We've traveled together for months, I can't-! We can't just leave him like that!" she said, heat in her tone.

Zoë scoffed at her, "He is a man, and like all men, they are a waste of space."

"Says you!" Thalia said, her hands clenched, "If it wasn't for that 'waste of space', me and Rhode would be dead a few weeks back!"

"Please, thou are acting like a fool."

"Oh yeah? What would you know?" Thalia said, her temper flaring.

"I have been around long to know how little heroes end up, child."

"Oh, so you're an old hag then?"

An irate look flashed across Zoë as she rose to her feet, "You ill-tempered child." she said, annoyance lacing her voice.

"Ill-tempered, huh?" Thalia's eyes turned stormy, glaring at the lieutenant of Artemis. "At least I don't have some gender superiority complex!" The raven-haired girl said heatedly. The girl just rubbed Thalia the wrong way.

Zoë gave Thalia a chilling glare, "Thou will regret this choice, girl. Thou will see, like every other man, he will let thee down someday. As they always do."

Thalia was about to retort before Artemis voice cut them off like a harsh wind.

"Enough." the goddess commanded, making the girls cow under her stern gaze. She turned to her half-sister, a tiny frown on her face, "Thalia, I would ask you not to insult one of my hunters." Thalia made a grunting noise, her eyes anywhere but on the goddess'. The moon goddess turned to her friend, "And Zoë, the girl has already made her decision. Even if you disagree, it is a matter of choice. Respect that."

"Forgive me, Lady Artemis." the lieutenant said, looking a touch embarrassed for letting a child rile her up.

"Come on, Rhode." Thalia said suddenly, "Let's get out of here."

Zoë sniffed at the daughter of Zeus, "Does thou have corn in thy ears? As my Lady said, tis a matter of choice. The daughter of the sea god can make her own choices."

"This is true." Artemis nodded as Thalia gritted her teeth and turned to Rhode.

"Come on, we don't need this, Rhode." The raven-haired girl said to her cousin. Plus, she didn't want to lose Rhode, her best friend and family, to some sexism campaign.

Rhode looked like a deer in headlights with all the eyes on her, "Um," she stammered for a moment. Getting up, she bowed to Artemis, "Thank you for your offer, but I don't think I'll fit in; and even then," shooting a quick glance to Thalia, her eyes hardened, "I can't leave my family."

Thalia smiled at that and turned to give a haughty smirk to Zoë. In your face you prissy princess!

Zoë frowned at this, finding it to be a waste of potential for the girl. But still, it was a matter of choice…even if the immortal girl found it to be the wrong one.

Artemis sighed, saddened by their decision but still respected it all the same, "Very well. We will be staying here until sunrise. So, I offer my protection this night to your group."

"Thank you." Rhode said quickly as Thalia looked like she wanted to decline as she was in a glaring match with Zoë.

"You're welcome." The goddess answered as Thalia and Rhode left to go back to Annabeth and Luke for the night.

* * *

><p>It had been a few days since meeting the meeting with Artemis.<p>

Thalia was still a bit pissed off by Zoë Nightshade.

With the early afternoon light, the group had been breaking for lunch and rest a bit since they had just been attacked once more a few hours ago.

Rhode used a lighter to start a small fire with the wood she and Annabeth got. Thalia and Luke were currently gutting some rabbits the group had caught.

A whoosh noise reached there ears, "AHH, poachers, help! Nine-one-one! PETA!"

The group just jolted up and looked at each other.

"Rho, I think your trap snagged someone." Thalia said as she was cleaning her hands.

"I figured, but I'm just wondering how." Rhode mumbled as they walked up to where the trap was.

Hanging in the fishing net was a willowy boy with curly brown hair. He had brown eyes, a bucket hat, and despite looking young, he had chin hair. He had on a brown sweater hoodie and blue jeans, and red Converse, but was missing one.

And on the foot that was missing a shoe, wasn't a human foot. There was a hoof!

"Um," the boy said as he spun upside down, "Could you guys let me down?" he asked politely.

"Who are you?" Thalia demanded, her spear just beginning to crackle angrily.

"My name's Grover, I'm a satyr!" the goat boy, Grover, exclaimed quickly, "Please put the spear away, I'm allergic to pointy things…and let me down!"

"How'd he even get into the trap?" Annabeth asked with a wonder.

"I saw an innocent piece of celery laying around and got hungry."

"It was meant for rabbits." Luke told him bluntly.

"…Yeah, those big bullies do love celery." The goat boy nodded, "So, can I get down now, please?"

"Why are you here?" Luke asked.

"I was sent by Chiron, I got to get, um," he hesitated for a moment, looking at Rhode and Thalia but swallowed heavily, "Well, all of you to Camp Half-Blood. You see, it's a safe place for guys like you."

Thalia stared at him for a bit, making him sweat. She then cut him down, which he was thankful for as he put on his fake foot.

Grover sniffed the air, "What's on fire?" he asked.

"We're cooking rabbit, want some?" Annabeth asked innocently.

Grover looked offended, "I'm a vegetarian! All satyrs are." He explained to the little girl.

Annabeth tilted her head at that, but nodded in understanding.

"Let's eat and you can explain what's going on." Thalia said as they went back to their little camp.

Grover nodded as the rabbit cooked, he started to tell them about Camp Half-Blood and all the stuff there.

"There's really a place like that?" Luke asked.

Thalia let out a tired smile, "Damn, just…wow."

Rhode gave Annabeth a half hug, "We're going to have a home, Annabeth!" she cheered happily.

Annabeth nodded her head, returning the hug her with a beaming smile, "We don't have to worry anymore!"

Grover smiled too as he continued to explain until another owl with a letter swooped by, giving it to Rhode.

The entire group tensed as the owl landed on a nearby branch. Grover raised a brow as to why they were so tense.

Thalia noticed the satyr's look and answered with annoyance in her voice, "This is the fiftieth one we got." She said, reaching over to snag the letter, contemplating on ripping it pieces or burning it to ashes.

"That's from one of those magical schools, right?" Grover asked curiously.

Thalia nodded, "So it's real. We figured as much…by the time the tenth one came." She grunted, resting her chin in her palm, waving the letter in her other hand, "But with how persistent they are after Rhode said no to all of them…it's really creepy." She said, stating her displeasure.

Grover said, "We actually have a camper or two who goes to magical school. Mail comes by owls. I know a bit about them."

Luke leaned forward, "What can you tell us?" he asked keenly.

"Which school?"

"Hogwarts." Rhode answered.

Grover smiled brightly, "Oh, the Scotland one. A student told me about the forest there. It's beautiful from what I heard. Also dangerous. Very dangerous. Let's see, I hear it's run by a guy with a D, uh…"

"Dumbledore." Annabeth supplied, having read the letter a few times herself.

"Yeah! That guy. Says he's some kind of genius."

Thalia laughed, "What? Like some old Kung Fu master, but with magic instead?"

Grover nodded, making Thalia turn to Rhode, wiggling her fingers.

"Join us, Rhode. For you must achieve your destiny." She said in a cheesy old man voice, then snorted.

Luke rolled his eyes. Thalia hated this magic school idea. She was always so protective of Rhode. Not that he blamed her with how much they've been bothering them, but he wanted more information first. "So this school is good?" he asked Grover, keeping the conversation on track.

Grover nodded once more, "Yep. I mean, from what I heard, some of the best wizards and witches went there. Like Merlin."

"…Merlin's real?" Rhode asked with a small look of awe.

"So's Le Fay." The satyr added.

"That means King Arthur's real too." Annabeth said with stars in her eyes.

Rhode gained a giddy expression, "This sounds so cool. I mean, I can do actually magic?" Childish excitement filled her. She could learn magic!

"Guys, we don't have time for magic." Thalia argued, "Half-bloods on the run, hello?"

Annabeth pouted at her, "You always say that."

"With good reason, Annie."

"But you're forgetting about Camp Half-Blood." Luke raised his point, getting a displeased look from Thalia, "We don't have to run anymore. We can finally have a life." He said in a tired tone.

Thalia gave him a sympathetic look, understanding him completely. But she was still stubborn on the magic school topic.

"I'd also get to see the world. Well, Scotland at least." Rhode stated.

"Yes, Scotland. A place on a whole other continent." The daughter of Zeus stated while crossing her arms.

"Well, it is a boarding school." Grover attested.

"But with magic!" Rhode added excitedly.

"I think she should go." Luke commented as Thalia gave him a look, "What?" he shrugged it off, "If she doesn't like it, she doesn't go back. And learning magic would be useful, right? Heck, it could save our lives one day."

"Exactly!" Rhode beamed at her friend.

"These guys obviously want Rhode to go," Annabeth said, sounding as serious as an eight year old could be, "So I think we should let her go. That way they stop harassing us. If not, owls will continue bothering her." The tiny blonde concluded. True, she wouldn't be able to pet all the cute owls that came to them, but it was just annoying now.

"Going would be like mean walk into a trap by her stalkers!" Thalia stubbornly said.

Luke counted by saying, "Sometimes springing the trap is the best solution. Besides, Rhode's aware of the danger and can take care of herself."

"She'd be all alone..." Thalia sternly retorted, making Rhode look at her and got pissed at that. It was like Thalia thought she couldn't take care of herself?

"Um," Grover interrupted, getting Thalia's intense eyes on him, "Like I said, we have a camper who goes there and another who's also going as a first year like Rhode. So, she won't really be alone."

Rhode put her foot down, "So it's settled." she said sternly, "Camp Half-Blood will be home base in a way. With other demigods there, I have backup and an older student that can give me a heads up if somethings going on. I'll be fine." the daughter of Poseidon concluded, looking right into Thalia's eyes.

Thalia looked around and saw it was three to one, damn democracy. "Alright." she said begrudgingly, getting Rhode to nod.

Still, the punkette of the sky felt uneasy for some reason.

Writing her reply of Yes, Rhode handed the paper to the owl. It hooted happily and took the letter, flying off. Rhode turned to Grover, "So that student at camp can help me out with supplies, right?"

Grover nodded, "Yeah. He's a good guy, he should help you out."

Rhode gained a smile. Okay, maybe she was getting overly hyped, but this was magic! Every kid at one time or another wished they could do it. And now the daughter of Poseidon could. It was going to be awesome!

"Are you going to get a pointed hat?" Annabeth questioned Rhode.

"Maybe." Rhode told her, it wasn't her really her style though.

"What about a big wart nose?"

"Okay, that's just a story, Bethy. And no more of those questions." The daughter of the sea stated as Annabeth pouted.

She had more questions!

They had lunch at that moment and ate in silence. The half-bloods had contemplating looks on their faces, wondering if they made the right decision. After about ten minutes, everyone had filled themselves and Grover spoke up.

"Anyway," Grover said as he finished eating a tin can from his bag, "We should get going, your scents are all over the place here." And pointed at Thalia and Rhode, "Especially you two." He said gravely.

"Why them?" Luke asked, throwing his empty skewer into the fire.

"They're kids of the Big Three, they have the strongest scents around. Heck, that's why Hades monsters keep finding you from what you told me."

The group looked at one another and Thalia asked with confusion, "Why would Hades be after us?"

Grover's eyes widened, "You, you don't know?!" he said startled, jumping to his fake feet.

"No." Rhode shook her head.

"You two aren't even supposed to be born!" the satyr exclaimed.

"What?" the daughter of Zeus asked in a dangerous tone, eyes narrowed.

Grover held up his hands, "No, that came out wrong, I mean," He sighed with slumped shoulders, "I guess I should explain it all."

So, about sixty years ago, right after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children, like Thalia and Rhode, were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of mortal events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II was a fight between children of the Big Three. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: No more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx.

The group grew silent at that.

"So," Thalia said in a tight tone, "We aren't even supposed to be born, huh?"

"Yeah." Grover answered in a tiny voice, there was pity in there too.

The daughter of Zeus balled her fists, her mind racing, "But, why would Hades be after us? We did nothing! Our dads broke the oath!"

"Well, he doesn't see it that way." Grover said, "He just sees that his brothers sired two heroes and wants you dead."

"But that's not fair!" Annabeth cried out, clearly upset as Luke didn't look very pleased either.

"But, shouldn't the Styx punish the ones who break?" Rhode asked Grover in a small voice, trying to wrap her head around all this.

"Well, they're gods, immortals, they got off easy, so-"

"It comes to us?!" Thalia said in fury as she stood up, "That's, that's bullshit!" she said. She was being punished because King Asshole couldn't keep it in his pants!

…Was, was that way she lost Jason? Why Rhode lost her mom and step-dad, having to live with her terrible relatives?

They got punished instead?

Static popped off Thalia's body, she wanted to punch something, she was just so angry. The daughter of Zeus stormed off, needing to cool down.

"Um, she shouldn't just-" Grover said, but Luke cut him off.

"Trust me, just let her get it out."

Rhode stood up and went after her friend.

Grover was going to say something again, but Luke just said, "She can calm Thalia down, they tend to do that for each other."

"Oh, okay." He nodded and went back to explaining more about the camp to the two blonds.

* * *

><p>Thalia stormed through some trees until she punched one. She did it so hard she broke the bark and her knuckles started to bleed, but she honestly didn't care.<p>

She and Rhode suffered because of Zeus and Poseidon...

Where the hell is the justice in that?

"Thalia." the raven-haired girl turned to see sad green eyes, "You okay?" Rhode asked.

"…No." the blue-eyed girl said as she leaned against the tree she punched and crossed her arms, chewing her lip, "…It's not fair."

Rhode moved next to her, leaning against the tree, "Since when has life been fair?" she said wearily, sounding far older than a ten year old should.

Thalia wrapped an arm around Rhode's shoulder, pulling her close as they listened to birds chirping and bugs buzzing.

"Sad fact is, you're right." The daughter of the sky said grumpily.

"…It's just us against the world, right?"

Thalia nodded, it always had been.

"But," Rhode said quickly, "We got Luke, Annabeth, and even Grover now. It's not just us anymore."

"…True."

"So, forget them and their oath!" Rhode said, wiggling out of Thalia's hold to stand in front of her, giving the smirk that just screamed troublemaker. It made a sense of pride bubble in Thalia's chest, her friend was just a rebel at times.

Good for her.

Rhode held out her pinkie, like all those years ago, with a big smile on her face.

"Let's make another promise. We make it through this together and live how we want. If the gods don't like it, well tough cookies!"

Thalia narrowed her eyes at Rhode and couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, Rhode really knew how to make someone feel better.

The daughter of Zeus laced her pinkie around the daughter of Poseidon's.

"Yeah, screw 'em."

They shook on it and smiled at one another.

* * *

><p>It had been two weeks since they had met Grover. They had gotten to know him and he just fit so well into the group.<p>

They wished it could have lasted, the fun times that is.

Until it happened.

Hades army had finally caught up to them.

After getting trapped by a Cyclops in his lair in Brooklyn, the Cyclops had tied, gagged and hung Rhode, Thalia, Luke, and Grover to the ceiling. They had been tricked by his voice mimicry. But Annabeth saved them by stabbing the Cyclops in the foot and got Thalia down, who zapped the monster to dust.

But that had stalled them too long and with their scents in the air…

"Ju-Just a little farther!" Grover shouted in a panic as they ran down a dirt road, him in the lead on his speedy goat legs. He was carrying Annabeth since her little legs couldn't keep up with the rest. Luke was next to him with ease as he was the fastest out of all of the demigods. Thalia was right behind them, having a few wounds on her just like all the rest. Rhode was taking the rear, but she wasn't looking so good.

Earlier, she had used nearly all of her energy to make a small earthquake, getting some of the hellhounds and giving the group a little time to run. Rhode had lost her spear too, after she had thrown it at the spine of one of the Furies in surprise, dusting it. The other hellhounds had trampled it, snapping the wooden shaft to splinters. The daughter of the sea looked like she was going to pass out at any second.

Thalia grabbed her hand, pulling the green-eyed girl with her, "We're going to make it. We're going to be fine, Rho." She told her best friend while holding her hand tightly, running as fast as she could.

"I-I…" Rhode panted as she worked through her aching body to keep moving. Grover pointed out the hill in the distance, saying they were close.

Thalia's blue eyes looked into tired green ones, "Come on! W-We promised, screw them. Screw their oath! We're gonna make it!"

They made it up the hill, but Thalia noticed…she noticed if something didn't stop the monsters, get their attention…they wouldn't make it. She looked at Rhode and paused for a moment on that hill. She quickly shed off her jacket, draping it over her friend's shoulders, "I-I love you." She told her in a whisper, getting a confused look from Rhode, "Luke, take Rhode. Now." She ordered, making the boy look at her.

"Thalia, what are you…" Luke's icy blue eyes widened, "No, no!" he told her but she glared at him.

"Shut up and do as I say." She ordered again. Rhode looked at her in shock.

"No!" the child of the sea declared, but Thalia pushed her towards Luke. She tried to go back, but Luke held onto her arm tightly, "No, let me go! Luke, let go!"

"Thalia, please!" Grover pleaded in tears, no, it wasn't supposed to be like this! It wasn't!

Thalia turned around, facing the coming monsters an brought out her weapons, "Go." She whispered, her shoulders tense as they stood on that lonely hill.

Luke turned away, picking up Rhode. She struggled the best she could against his hold, but was too tired to give much of a fight. He ran down that lonely hill, holding Rhode as tightly as he could, blocking out her pleas and cries as he blinked out a few tears. Grover ran too as he held Annabeth, making sure her head was in his chest so she couldn't see, despite her desperate pleas of going back for Thalia.

Thalia's intense electric blue eyes cut to the foes before, tears streaming down her cheeks as her face was etched in stone.

Her right hand clenched tightly around the shaft of her spear so hard that her palm started to bleed. She raised her left arm, Aegis facing her coming foes as it was ready to defend her.

"So, you want me, huh?" she whispered quietly to herself as the monsters pounced with deafening roars.

"Well," Thalia's eyes crackled as black clouds billowed around above, "Come and get ME!" she roared as the sky boomed, taking out one of the Furies and a dozen hellhounds in a lightning strike.

"FOR ZEUS!" Thalia screamed in ferocity, charging at the army from Hades.

Her mind flashed in that instance to her friends and family.

To Grover, that silly awkward goat boy.

Duck, stab, roll, block, and stab again.

To Annabeth, that plucky little blonde girl.

A static blast here, a shield bash there. A fiery whip hit her left shoulder, her shield arm fell.

To Luke, a friend that she cared for…maybe more.

She was tackled to the ground. Crying out, she let loose a static blast and scrambled to her feet, firing off an arcing blast of static.

And finally, Rhode…that little girl from the start of it all. All the times they shared together. All the good and the bad…her best friend that she loved so much…

She roared, blasting off the final Fury's whip arm as her back was slashed deeply.

And Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, knew one thing.

Electric blue eyes crackled as she let out a final roar of defiance. Her body arced like a plasma globe. She released a bomb of static from her very body, destroying many monsters around her as she fell to her knees.

She regretted nothing.

"THALIA!"

* * *

><p>The daughter of Poseidon felt numb to the world.<p>

It had only been an hour since the group had made it to Camp Half-Blood.

Once given some nectar, Rhode's wounds healed and she had gotten some energy to move around.

And now she was before the new tree that sat on what some were calling Half-Blood Hill.

The pine tree that was once her best friend, Thalia.

Zeus had taken pity on her, turning her into a tree so Thalia's soul wouldn't end up in the hands of Hades.

Rhode tugged Thalia's leather jacket tighter around herself, having not taken it off all this time. Her throat hurt from all the screaming she had done as she watched Thalia battle for her life, and…fall. The image forever burned in her mind and her nightmares. The roar of victory of the monsters as they raised their heads in triumph still rang true. Emotions churned around the heart of the child of the Poseidon like a maelstrom, not knowing what to do, or what to feel.

The green-eyed girl's hand shakily reached out towards the tree, her palm gripping the tracks in the bark like a lifeline. "Y-You promised," she sobbed, breaking down completely and allowing herself to cry, her wails of anguish echoing atop that lonely hill. Rhode's cries grew softer until she simply wept, her forehead resting against the wood as her shoulders shook like a leaf in the wind and her world felt as if it was spinning.

_Someday soon, you will sacrifice yourself to save your friends._

Hal's words from what felt so long ago played in her mind. They resonated in Rhode's very core…he was right.

_You will stand tall and still, alive but sleeping._

Another sob escaped Rhode's throat. It was her fault. Thalia was gone…and it was all her fault. She wasn't strong enough to help her best friend, her sister, her family. She was a failure. She wasn't even strong enough to keep her promise to her sister, how could she keep her family safe?

She felt small arms wrap themselves around her left arm, turning to see familiar steel grey eyes that so often shone with bright curiosity, her heart ached when she saw they were instead puffy and leaking tears. Pulling her close, Rhode rested her head on Annabeth's gently, whispering words of comfort as she soothed the girl as she bawled. An arm wrapped itself around her shoulders, making Rhode look up to see Luke on her right, smiling brokenly as he did his best to remain strong. For them. Tears filled her eyes as she tugged him closer, hugging his waist tightly as he enveloped her and Annabeth in his arms.

So they mourned. They mourned for their friend, for their sister, and their family. Each broken inside by the cruelty of the world.

It was the summer of the year 2001.

The thirty-first of July.

Rhode Jasmine Evans, daughter of Poseidon, had turned eleven.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks again Sieg, you rock as always with these betas. <strong>

**So yeah, that ending was so hard to make. I hope I conveyed the emotions well enough. I know that I sniffled a few times making it. So Rhode's heart is crushed at the loss (hence the chapter title) of Thalia, her BFF. Next, we see Rhode's remaining time at camp until the Hogwarts arc finally starts soon.**

**11/21/04: On a more personal note, I have been going through some family troubles. Forgive me for saying my problems here, but I am not the best at expressing my emotions in real life. I'm more the rock of the family when everyone else is troubled despite being the youngest. My writing on the other hand helps me greatly with expressing myself. I don't know if this is some kind of twisted joke due to the ending of this chapter. But I feel so connected to Rhode right now.**

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to my Aunt Michelle. She currently has cancer and is at home with her husband and children, spending her final moments with them. There is no chances of her getting through it. Any day now, she will be gone. As I typed this chapter, I think I might have expressed some of my own grief into Rhode, which has helped me with trying to cope with this coming loss.**

**Again, the chapter title rears its ugly head. **

**I love you Aunt Michelle, you were always the kooky fun loving one. I'll miss you so much and I wish we could have spent more time together. May you find peace, your loving nephew.**

**Now please review, no flames, and peace off.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey  
><strong>

**First Summer: Change**

**Beta: Siegfried01**

**1/02/15: E4E here guys, just wishing to say happy New Year!**

**Sieg: Yeah! Happy New Year! Let's celebrate 2015 by getting 2015 reviews! …Yeah like that's going to happen. But a guy can hope. Anyway, on with the story.**

* * *

><p>Rhode's steps left soft imprints on sand the color of salt and pepper, just indenting the surface due to her small frame. A trail of shallow imprints, similar to the ones she just left meandered behind her as she ambled across the beach; wandering the stretch of shore. Pausing, she sucked in a deep breath as she surveyed her surroundings. The craggy cliffs and wind-battered rocks long since left behind by her aimless wayfaring. Looking around, the beach was totally abandoned, not a sign of movement or life anywhere save for the incessant line of prints behind her.<p>

The only thing ahead of her was more of the peculiar salt and pepper colored sand; some of the fine grains having found their way in between her toes, causing an almost uncomfortable gritty sensation. All was quiet, save for the mournful howl of the wind as it came in from the sea and the gentle brush of the waves across sand and shells.

A particularly strong gale hurled past, the winds cutting across exposed flesh and whipping her hair around as it passed, drawing her attention to the sea. Scanning the horizon, her eyes picked up on a cloud of grey much darker than the light steel grey overhead. A storm; billowing and proud; despite its great distance the air was thick with energy from the storm as it unleashed vast bouts of crackling lightning, superheating the air around the network of powerful electricity and lighting up the sky and parts of the cloud with brief flashes of white light.

Rhode held no doubt that had the storm been overhead, or even somewhat close, it'd wreak destruction on the beach with its tempestuous winds and roaring lightning. Currently though, at this distance, it resembled the yawning maw of some great creature. Rhode's imagination took her to the Charybdis in the Sea of Monsters and the stories she had heard of it.

Right now though, all was calm. It was rather apt, the saying, 'The calm before the storm,' literally in this case.

The sounds of joyous laughter tore her away from her musing as she turned to face the source of the sounds. Warmth filler her chest as she saw Luke and Annabeth, laughing as they had fun playing, picking up seashells and splashing each other with the warm seawater. Unable to stop herself, she took off to them as small clouds of sand flew about as she ran, smiling widely in relief. She wasn't alone.

**"Isn't it good to have fun with family?"** A voice asked as she neared them.

**"Family is important, no? Never forget that, child." **

Now, normally she'd agree with that wholeheartedly, but right now she wasn't sure. What the voice was saying was simple enough, but what gave her pause was the voice itself. It was cold, off putting, and yet tantalizingly seductive in its own terrifying way.

She had just reached the two most important people left in her life, their infectious smiles causing hers to return in full force. Opening her mouth, she was just about to say something when the image blurred, the colors mashing together into an indistinguishable blob.

* * *

><p>The first thing she noticed was the pale peach ceiling. Bolting up, her dagger already in hand, Rhode quickly scanned the room, her long hair whipping back and forth before she remembered where she was. Sighing, she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth before placing the dagger on her pillow. Stretching to work out the kinks in her back, Rhode sighed once more as she relaxed. It seemed life on the streets had left more for her to remember it by than simply memories.<p>

"That was a strange one," she quietly commented to herself. She tried to figure out what that voice was, but came up with nothing. With a shake of her head, the daughter of Poseidon looked out the window to see the Long Island Sound.

It had been a few days since…the incident. Rhode was the currently the only living child of the broken Oath between the Big Three. To say the least, she was the biggest gossip in the camp of demigods, Camp Half-Blood.

She lived in her own cabin now, Cabin Three. Annabeth and Luke moved to their respected parents' Cabins, Six and Eleven.

On the outside, the Poseidon cabin was a low, narrow but long building made out of a rough grey stone dotted with pieces of shells and coral. Rhode thought that it looked like the sea floor, specifically a rock shelf, and the other campers agreed with her. All of the windows were situated facing the sea and the door was crafted out of sturdy wooden planks with a large three made out of brass on the front of it (something each of the cabins had, with different numbers of course).

Despite its rather simple outer walls, (in comparison to the other cabins, Rhode still couldn't quite look at the Aphrodite cabin directly. Too much…pink.) the inside of the Poseidon cabin was rather homely, if a little too big for one girl to be living in.

There were six bunk beds along the wall with the windows, one for each of the beds, with baby blue silk sheets that were currently immaculately made, all except one of course. While on the outside the walls were rough stone slabs, on the inside they shone like the finest of Abalone and were polished to near perfect smoothness. The floor was made out of well-polished ash wood planks, one of Poseidon's sacred trees. All over the cabin the gentle scent of the sea permeated the air, although how it did so escaped Rhode's understanding. There were no scented candles or other forms of producing the smell, so she just chalked it up to it simply being Poseidon's doing and left it at that.

Swinging herself off the bed, Rhode threw on some clothes: The standard orange Camp Half-Blood tee-shirt, her pearl necklace, her sea glass bracelet, a pair of denim shorts that reached her knees and her blue and white NiceKicks.

Turning to the post of her bunk, Rhode gently picked up a worn leather jacket that hung from a peg protruding from the post. Eying it sadly, she sucked in a deep breath, her fingers gripping it tightly, before putting it on and closing it around her. Rhode tried to find some sort of comfort in it, but all she could do was hold back a sob.

The scion of the sea grabbed her green and black striped beanie from its place under where the jacket hung on the peg and attempted to put it in her pocket before she felt something in it. Shuffling through her pocket, she brought it up to eye level, a small frown on her face. It was some form of small scope she noted, turning it over in her fingers. It appeared to be some kind of spyglass made out of dark green plastic. Finding the adjuster, she contemplated trying it before shrugging and slid thumb over the knob.

Immediately the spyglass grew in size into a rod seven feet long that gleamed in the morning light. It was made of immaculately polished celestial bronze with three prongs on one end and a small counter-weight on the other. Turning over in her hands, the frown on her face growing more pronounced, Rhode examined the blades. The center blade was a foot in length while the ones on the side were only eight inches long with hooks on the outer edges adding another four inches to their width, said hooks looking like small axe blades, to Rhode at least. The other side needed no examination. She knew just from looking at it that it was the counterbalance for the trident and most likely could be used a bludgeoning tool.

As she turned it over in her hands, she felt a flash of anger and turned it back into the spyglass by flicking a hidden switch. Glaring at it, her grip on it tightened before the spyglass was sent hurtling towards the other wall, bouncing off the stone with a crack and clattering to the floor.

"I don't want it," she said to nothing, her hands clenched so hard into fists that her knuckles whitened. Covering her eyes with one hand, she leaned heavily against the post. "I don't want some kind of trophy, dad," she said, her tone turning from petulant to pain-filled as her voice trembled turbulently. "I don't! I don't want to be rewarded!" As happy and relieved as she was that she had made it to camp, she'd trade everything away in a second, if only to have Thalia back. The price was too high. If it had been a choice to go to camp and have Thalia die or take their chances on the run, Rhode wouldn't have hesitated.

Feeling a weight in her pocket, Rhode felt her anger flare once more. "And stop making it stalk me!" She exclaimed, tossing it uncaringly onto her bed.

Stuffing her beanie in her now empty pocket, the daughter of Poseidon exited her cabin and made her way through the maze of cabins and benches as other campers stopped what they were doing and began to whisper and gossip, rather annoyingly she noted, about her; almost as if she was some kind of rare endangered species at the Bronx Zoo.

She ignored them as she made her way to Thalia's tree.

It was where Rhode spent the past few days. She couldn't really push herself to join any of the activities. Even if she got to pick her own since she was the head councilor of Cabin Three. She also got her own big lonely table to eat at in the pavilion. Which she honestly didn't do much recently (something that worried her friends), and got to say lights out when she wanted.

As she laid against the bark of the tree, Rhode just tried to clear her head and brood while watching the campers run about, feeling hollow inside.

It was an hour later she hear the clopping of hooves and turned to see Chiron, the famed trainer of heroes. He was the activities director of the camp. He looked like a middle-aged man in a white dress shirt and red tie with thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, and sharp but kind brown eyes along with a scruffy beard. But from the waist down he was a pure white stallion, "Hi, Mister Chiron." She greeted quietly.

"Hello, Rhode. And please, just Chiron, my dear," the centaur said with his cultured voice and a smile, getting a mute nod from the girl, "May I sit?" he asked politely and did so at the girl's second nod, "Ah, it feels good to rest my fetlocks." He said while giving a soft smile watching all the campers bustling below. He turned to the daughter of the sea god and said, "We missed you at breakfast." He commented.

He didn't say again, but he didn't have to.

Rhode turned away, "Sorry, just not very hungry."

The trainer let out a sigh, "It's not good for you to skip meals, Rhode you know," he spoke in a kind tone, "If you wish to talk, I am more than willing to lend an ear."

Rhode hugged her legs to her chest, burying her face in her knees, shaking her head against them.

The trainer gave a sad look. He knew more than most what it was like to lose a friend, he had spoken to many a half-blood over the years about the subject of grief. It was not something he enjoyed talking about, but it was needed. He reached over and gave her knee a gentle pat and said, "Then when you are ready, child." He procured two shiny red apples from his satchel and put them beside her, "Just try and eat something, Rhode."

Rhode raised her head, just for her eyes to see the apples. Her stomach gave a deep growl. She slowly reached for one and showed her face as she softly bit into the juicy apple, crunching on it and swallowed, "Sweet." She muttered in surprise.

"Yes, Cabin Four does good work." The archer smiled, "I was talking to Luke. He said you have some experience with horses." There was amusement in his tone.

"Yeah," Rhode said as she took another bite and swallowed while regarding the centaur, "I helped out on a horse training farm once or twice."

Chiron's face broke out a bigger smile, "Well then, would you terribly mind aiding me with something?" he asked.

Rhode's eyes turned to him, looking a tad interested, "What?"

Chiron stood up on his horse legs and gave a humorous wink, "Follow me."

A small frown came to Rhode's face, she didn't want to leave Thalia alone. Her frown deepened when she could literally imagine Thalia scolding her for sitting around for so long. She gave a reluctant sigh, Chiron was a head honcho here at camp, so she felt she didn't really have a choice in the matter. Snagging the second apple and putting it in Thalia's jacket pocket, she decided to humor the trainer, contently eating the first apple.

They walked through the camp and reached the stables where horses and pegasi (the kids of her brother Pegasus) stayed and saw some of the Demeter kids helping out with lessons. Though Rhode noted that Chiron did not look comfortable around the place.

"Right here," the trainer said as they walked to one of the pens and Rhode couldn't help but gain a tiny smile. It was a foal pegasus, a filly to be precise, snoozing. Usually, a pegasus was black, brown, or white (even a mix of the colors), but this one was a unique fiery auburn with pure white phalanxes and a fiery auburn mane that was long and covered her left eye like a fringe.

Rhode remembered the first time she helped a mare give birth to a foal. While it was kind of gross, she found that new life being born to be so amazing.

"She's beautiful." The daughter of Poseidon whispered.

"Indeed, she is very young, perhaps a month or two. A satyr found her nearby." Chiron stated, "Would you terribly mind looking after her? I'm sure it would be of much help since I hear she's a bit…energetic."

Rhode looked at the young winged horse and back to Chiron, "Me?" she asked with a surprised blink, "Why?"

"As you may know, children of Poseidon have a way with equine. She is new here, as are you. I find it to be…interesting timing." The trainer stated.

Rhode studied Chiron's face and looked back at the filly, "What's her name?"

"She doesn't have one yet. Perhaps you may assist with that." He said with a smile.

Rhode thought on it and nodded. She gently opened the pen and knelt down next to the horse, "Hey girl," She cooed softly, "wakey wakey." She brushed her hand over the muzzle of the filly.

A teal colored eye opened to see who was rubbing her snout and the young filly let out a shocked gasp of surprise and stood up fast, she accidently kicked the water bucket near her as it flew into the air. She moved left, banging her head right into the side of the pen and landing on her bum, the water bucket falling right on her head, splashing her mane and body as she wore her new helmet.

Rhode could only blink in surprise along with Chiron. A smile slowly spread across Rhode's face as laughter bubbled up from her chest over the scene. It felt like forever since she genuinely laughed.

_Great, _Rhode heard in her head as the filly mumbled in clear embarrassment, _First child of Lord Poseidon in decades and I make a total fool out of myself! Man, I had a whole awesome introduction planned too!_

"Let's get this off," Rhode said as she took off the bucket and if a horse could blush, the young filly probably was profusely doing so under that fiery auburn coat.

_Thank you, um, Milady._

Rhode pursed her lips, she always found that title thing that horses gave her to be weird, "My name's Rhode," she said.

The filly nodded, shaking her wet mane, _Right, Lady Rhode…wasn't that another child of Lord Poseidon?_

"I was named after her." The daughter of Poseidon answered.

_Oh, I gotcha._

"I think I'll leave you two alone now." Chiron smiled as he trotted away.

_That's right man horse dude, you trot those hooves! Too good for our stable, huh?! _She neighed.

Rhode raised a brow, "No love for the centaur?"

The filly just huffed. Wow, who knew a young pegasus had such an attitude?

Rhode could feel the amusement on her face. "So, I hear you don't have a name," she said, grabbing a towel and dried off the filly's mane, "You want me to give you one?"

The teal eyes widened, _Oh yeah! What other pegasus can say they were named by a demigod of Lord Poseidon nowadays, ha! Take that you guys!_ The filly nickered to the older horses and pegasi, who said a few snide things back at her, but the filly was too busy looking smug.

At least as smug a pegasus could look.

Rhode rolled her eyes, but soon gained thoughtful look as she eyed the foal. "Hm…how about…Flóga?" she said, looking intently at the pegasus' coat.

_Flame? _The filly cocked her head to the left.

"Why not?" Rhode shrugged, "I'm water and your coat looks like fire."

_…I am liking this. Flóga, Flóga, rolls right off the tongue._

"So, nice to meet you, Flóga." Rhode greeted.

The newly named Flóga held out a hoof as if to shake hands. Rhode took and shook it, _Nice to meet you, Lady Rhode._

"Just Rhode."

_I can't just do that! You know, respect and stuff._

"Just Rhode." The daughter of the sea insisted.

_Well, I got to do something. Um, how about Bosslady?_

"Err…"

_Right, Bosslady it is._

Rhode just shook her head, it was hard to change a horse's mind.

A grumbling was heard and Flóga neighed, _Sorry, I'm hungry._ The filly looked sheepishly.

Rhode blinked at that and…oh that clever centaur. She took out the second apple, "Here."

_Awesome! _Flóga nickered and happily munched on the apple.

Rhode smiled as she watched the young pegasus eat, Chiron wasn't lying when he said she was energetic.

_So, I heard from some of the older guys about these things, I think they're called bagels, can I get one? Please~!_

"I'll, um, work on that."

_Oh yeah!_

Definitely energetic. And a little bit of a glutton.

* * *

><p>It had been a few days since Rhode started to take care of Flóga. She mainly left her cabin to check on Flóga in the passing days. The more she went to check on the filly, the more her friends would pester her or drag her to eat at the pavilion. It slowly, she started to gradually come to meals on her own accord. Annabeth and Luke were relieved at this. But Rhode still hadn't joined any of the activities, opting to hang around the stables with Flóga. It became her routine and just gave her something to do. The daughter of Poseidon got to know the others in the stable, like Butterscotch, Starburst, Milk Duds, Whiplash, Nightingale, and Big Mac.<p>

Annabeth had joined Rhode today as she was currently brushing Flóga's mane. The daughter of Athena held out her hand, letting Flóga lick sugar cubes out of it, getting the girl to giggle at the feeling.

"She's so pretty, Rhode." Annabeth said, fingers gliding along the red coat.

Flóga stood up straighter at that.

"Easy, Bethy," Rhode said gently, "She may be a filly, but she's got an ego on her."

_Bosslady! _The filly whined.

Rhode shot her a look, daring her to deny it.

_…I can't help I was born superfly. _Flóga whined once more.

The daughter of Poseidon just shook her head.

"I think my next class is starting soon." Annabeth said, glimmering hopefully eyes towards Rhode, "D-Do you want to join us? It's hand-to-hand training with Cabin Five." She said while wrinkling her little nose.

Uncertainty crept along Rhode's face, "I-I don't know, Annabeth." She answered with uneasiness.

"But don't you want to train?" the young blonde asked curiously. Rhode was just always hanging around the stables.

Rhode chewed her lip, "I just haven't been in the mood is all, Bethy." She tried to explain.

"Aw, but I bet you'd kick all kinds of butt!" Annabeth cheered and did a mock kick…only to bang her shin right on the pen door, "Ow!" she yelped, moving to sit on her bottom, rubbing her aching shin.

"You okay?" Rhode asked, kneeling down next to her.

Annabeth just nodded, wincing at the pain a little. She looked up to Rhode, "Well, would you still consider coming…just a little?" she asked with those big grey eyes of hers.

Rhode inwardly debated the request. Unsure if she was up to it, but she also didn't want to disappoint Annabeth. Flóga butted her head lightly against Rhode's shoulder, _Come on, Bosslady, go kick butt!_

_Really?_ Rhode asked back in her mind.

_Yeah! Plus, you can hang out here anytime. You're a hero. _My_ hero. So I can't have my hero getting out of shape._ Flóga nodded to herself.

Rhode looked surprised, _Your hero?_

_Yep! You're my rider, my boss, Bosslady. No other hero's getting on all this awesome when I get big enough._

Rhode let out a small laugh, getting a confused look from Annabeth. Green eyes turned to grey ones, "Well, I guess I could use a workout."

Annabeth's face lit up and she hugged Rhode around the waist, cheering.

Rhode patted her head, smiling softly.

* * *

><p>The hand-to-hand combat class was being run by the head of Ares Cabin, Fergus Wallace.<p>

He, like all children of Ares, was broad-shouldered and built like a tank. As loathe as Rhode was to admit it, his physique was nothing to sniff at, a five foot eight wall of pure muscle; and he was only fourteen. She shuddered to think what he'd look like if he grew to be taller like some other older campers she had seen. His facial features were average she supposed, although she had heard some of the girls and their opinions and apparently he was rather handsome, if only because of the wicked scar arching from his right cheekbone to his neck. Fergus had dirty tar black hair that he kept in a short crew cut and dark brown eyes that automatically sized anyone up and conveyed his rather obvious urge for a good fight.

While Rhode liked to have a weapon in her hands, she wasn't ignorant of fighting without one. Living the streets, Rhode and Thalia had to learn how to fight without their weapons since celestial bronze didn't work on mortals. Always go for the groin the daughter of Zeus would say. It worked on guys all the time, girls too.

Fergus started off the lesson simply enough. Just some warmups, some basic moves, and then finally came the sparring matches on the mats.

As her wondrous luck would have it, Rhode was picked first along with a newly claimed son of Ares to spar.

She would've liked to say she was doing well, but that would have been a lie.

Rhode staggered back, holding the bloody lip from the punch to the face she had just received.

The crowd was cheering them on as Fergus was refereeing the fight.

The daughter of Poseidon glared at the smug looking son of war as he moved in for another shot. Rhode weaved to and fro from the strikes, going in for her own. Only to have it block and got a jab in the stomach for her troubles.

Rhode held her stomach, wincing from the shot, and backpedaled as the son of Ares continued his assault.

Aggravation filled Rhode as she was forced on the defensive and it just continued to rise every time she went in for an attack, occasionally getting a hit in, only to get a hit back. Sure, she may have sat around for a few days, but was she really this out of shape?

Was she this weak?

That very thought made something snap inside. Anger flooded her veins as her eyes turned dangerous. She sidestepped a punch and grabbed the offending arm. She forced it down as her rising knee connected with the boy's elbow.

Everyone gave a wince to the sickening crunch that was heard.

"Ah, what the hel-!" the son of war cried out, but was cut off when a fist buried itself in his cheek, sending him to the ground. Before the boy could even get up, Rhode was on his, her fist raised in the air and she brought it down viciously.

The boy tried to block with his remaining arm, but Rhode just kept wailing on him.

"Yield, yield!"

The voice was muddled to Rhode's ears, blinded by her rage that she had been losing and refused to.

It was then powerful arms wrapped around her, lifting her into the air. It was like she was ensnared by steel cables as she kicked in the air feebly.

"Kay, I love a good tussle as much as the next lad, lass, but he yielded. Match done." The Scottish accent of Fergus said in her ear, "Now cool your jets, lass." His voice was dangerous as Rhode slowly panted and stopped her resistance. She felt herself set on the ground and turned around to face the older son of war.

His large palm clamped on her left shoulder, giving it a not so friendly squeeze, "See, lass, I got a rule for my lessons. You can kick each other's asses as much as you want, I don't care. But, and this the real kicker, when someone yields, the fight's done."

Rhode gave Fergus a defiant glare, making him squeeze her shoulder harder, "You understand?"

Rhode gave a slow nod as the stern face of Fergus broke out into a wild smile, "See? Not so hard. Normally, I'd compliment that fire in your eyes, but sadly, now's not one of them. You see that mess?" he pointed to his little brother who looked pretty busted up, making Rhode nod, "Well, he's your mess, you and me are taking him to the infirmary then we'll be having a good chat up with Chiron. Got it?"

Rhode averted her eyes, "Yeah." She grunted.

"Good. Meg, take over!" Fergus called out as he and Rhode went to pick up the downed son of war.

They went to the Big House. The Big House was a large, sky-blue house which acted as the main administrative building at Camp Half-Blood. Chiron and the Camp Director lived there and it acted as the infirmary for injured campers.

After dropping the kid off at the infirmary, Rhode ended up before Chiron, who had a displeased look on his face. He wasn't very keen on Rhode's extreme action during a friendly spar and sentenced her to house arrested in her cabin. She wasn't allowed to do any activities either, except come out for meals or to use the bathroom.

* * *

><p>It was Friday and Rhode's house arrest had been lifted after five days. Finally!<p>

She was getting sick of doing pushups and sit-ups in her cabin. The only other thing she could do was draw so she wouldn't go stir crazy being cooped up for so long. Good thing she drank a lot of water, got her to use the bathroom plenty of times.

Mr. D, the Camp Director, announced it was time for Capture the Flag. Mr. D was really Dionysus, the god of wine. From what Rhode heard, he got grounded by Zeus for chasing some off-limits wood nymph like gods tend to do. So he had to work at the camp for a hundred years. He was a little fat man with curly black hair, blood shot purple eyes and wore a leopard print shirt with black shorts. To Rhode, he didn't seem very godly.

He also didn't like demigods a whole lot either, always got a camper's name wrong. His form of cheap petty amusement Rhode figured. She'd be pretty grumpy if she'd been grounded for a hundred years, but he still came off as a jerk. Maybe it had to do with him calling her Rapunzel, just a tiny bit.

After burning some of her food to Poseidon, a juicy slice of brisket, Rhode ate her meal as the teams were announced.

It was Athena versus Ares, a regular thing apparently.

All the cabins were split up. Hermes, Hephaestus, and Poseidon joined up with Athena.

Aphrodite, Demeter, and Apollo cabin joined up with Team Ares.

Leading the Ares group was of course Fergus, grinning and eager for the coming game.

The one leading the Athena Alliance was a guy named Nils Nielsen. He was an African American teen with cocoa brown skin, a lean body type, and was about five foot ten and one of the older kids in camp since he was seventeen. He didn't have the patented blond hair of Athena Cabin though. He had black dreadlocks and the same startling grey eyes as Annabeth. But his were different, they held an edge to them, like he was calculating Quantum Physics and how to win the match all at the same time as he gave a 'cool calm' presence with a small knowing smile.

Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble of the Pavilion.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, and ox hide shields coated in metal.

Rhode decided to wear a leather cuirass and a leather strap skirt over her shirt and shorts with bronze greaves and studded vambraces along with a helm that had a blue plum. She had her dagger at the ready on her hip and grabbed two spears, a backup in case she broke one. The water child looked at her right wrist, where the shield of Achilles rested. With a deep breath, Rhode stood alongside with the rest of blue team. For some reason, excitement bubbled in her chest, maybe it was because this game would let her let loose some pent up aggravation.

Nils yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

Blue team cheered and shook their swords and followed him down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at them as they headed off toward the north.

"You're going down, Boy Wonder!" Fergus shouted over the taunts, getting cheers from red team.

"You wish, Warhead!" the son of Athena shouted back as the blue team roared in agreement.

Annabeth ran up to Rhode, a big smile on her face as she held her dagger tightly. She wore a helm that was a bit bigger than her head, but the rest of her gear was like a Greek soldier, but only kids' size, "This is going to be so cool." The young blonde gushed to her older friend, "You missed the last one, but you'll really like it Rhode."

"You got that right, kiddo." Luke said, trotting up to them. A set of lightweight leather studded armor with his sword resting in its sheath on his left hip and a medium-sized shield with his father's symbol, the caduceus, embossed on the middle of it strapped tightly to his left forearm.

"Hey Luke," Rhode waved as the blond boy just smiled at her.

"Looks like we'll be fighting side by side again, Rhode." He winked.

"Yeah, but you and Bethy better watch out," the daughter of the sea smirked, "I'll be getting that flag."

"No, I will!" Annabeth argued childishly.

"No way!" The older girl declared back playfully.

"Girls," Luke said with his hands up diplomatically, "We all know that I'm getting that flag." He grinned impishly at them.

Both girls look at him then back at each other, "Whoop his butt?" Rhode asked with a raised brow.

Annabeth concurred with a solid nod.

"Hey, no team ups." Luke argued quickly.

"Bleh." The girls retorted, sticking their tongues at him and ran ahead.

"Well, that was entertaining." a male voice said and Luke turned to see his slightly younger brother, and the head of Cabin Eleven, Lee Jordan.

Lee looked nothing like Luke, save for the impish features that all children of Hermes shared. He was a dark skinned kid with black dreadlocks and chocolate eyes that glimmered with mischief and stood a little shorter than the blond. On Lee's feet were a pair of red Converse sneakers with small white wings on both sides of them, got them for fifty percent off at the camp store he said. Also, instead of the Converse star, they had a big H on the sides. On his left hip was a short sword and on his right was a pouch filled with throwing knives. They were also charmed to return to the pouch when the number of knives got too low. He said their dad gave them to him as a gift.

Luke had learned that his brother was deadly with those things, could even go toe to toe with Apollo cabin when it came to throwing them.

"Hi Lee." Luke greeted his brother.

"Getting in trouble with your little girlfriends, Luke? For shame." the head of Cabin Eleven mock scolded.

"Ha," Luke mock laughed with a deadpanned, "You're funny."

"I try. Now come on. We're defending the flag." Lee nudged his head.

"What?!"

Lee rolled his eyes, "Best offense is a good D, Luke."

Luke frowned, "I wanted to go for the flag."

"Well, we don't always get what we want." Lee shrugged listlessly.

* * *

><p>The sound of a conch horn indicated the start of the match.<p>

Rhode ran through the creek as the water washed over her, giving her a small boost that water usually did, making her faster as she dodged between trees. Her heart was pounding with excitement, she had missed this feeling.

Her first opponent was a son of Apollo. She ended up knocking hit off his balance and knocking him out with a blow to the face with her shield. As she heard his nose crunch against the cold metal.

After her boost faded, she ended up running into a group of Ares kids, who were ever so friendly. She managed to take down two of them, but the other three ganged up on her. They knocked her to the ground and broke one of her spears while kicking the other away.

"So much for Poseidon's kid."

"Ha! I know, guess kids of the Big Three aren't so tough after all."

"Acting like some big shot," one sneered, "Making our cabin look bad."

"What a joke!"

That one burned her deeply.

"I am not a joke!" Rhode shouted in anger, slamming her fists on the ground, making it shake a bit and knocking them down in surprise. Rhode stood up and looked at her spear intently. It felt as though power sprung from her demand for the weapon to come to her. It felt different though, not unfamiliar, just of a slightly different flavor to the demigod powers she typically yielded. Suddenly, it somehow leapt towards her and she caught it. The green eyed girl swung it right to the side of one of the Ares kid's head while he was still on the ground, knocking him out. She moved fast, slashing one guy's left leg as he was getting up. He gasped in pain as Rhode followed up with a swift punched to the face, making him fall back in a groan.

The last Ares boy charged at her but she went low and swung the end of her weapon at his legs, sweeping him to fall on his face and spun from her swing, knocking him out quickly while he was down.

Rhode panted heavily, trying to get her breath back. A whistle sounded off, drawing her attention, "Wow. Nice one, new girl."

Rhode turned to see an older girl with two other more burly looking boys, remember seeing them at Table Nine, the Hephaestus kids.

The girl was about five foot three with fair but dirty skin with a Band-Aid on her right cheek. Her hair was burnt orange with them in pigtails and bizarrely held in small pipe clamps and resting above her forehead were wraparound yellow tinted googles connect by a backpack buckle in-between the lenses. Her dark green eyes were filled with a gleam something akin to a troublemaker as a necklace of beads and gold nuts hung around her neck along with a choker that had bolts sticking out of it.

She wore a blue sleeveless hoodie zipped up to her chest area, showing her red tee-shirt with a cartoon skull over her chest. Her skirt that matched her hair with a tool belt hung around her waist that had an Anarchy symbol as the buckle. She had black and white stripped stockings and boots as a knife was strapped to her right shin. But what really got Rhode was that her left arm was gleaming celestial bronze, literally, she had a metal arm. Oh, and she was holding a war hammer just taller than herself in the metal arm's grip, resting on her shoulder like a baseball bat.

"Thanks." Rhode said, eyeing the hammer.

"Gaige," the girl, Gaige, introduced herself, "Saw your fight and was about to jump in, but you seem to kick their butts pretty good." She gave Rhode a once over and nodded to herself, "Hey, Nils has us running the flag. Wanna join up?" she asked in a chipper tone.

Rhode was hesitant for a moment before nodding, she didn't want to be ganged up on again if she could help it.

"Cool, let's go." Gaige said, taking the lead as they went further into red team territory.

It was a few moments later that they ran into a group of Demeter kids. One of Gaige's brothers got snagged by vines in surprise as the others separated.

There were only three of them as Rhode took one for herself while Gaige and her other brother took the rest.

The daughter of Poseidon's opponent was a Chinese girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes. She looked just around Rhode's own height, if not slightly shorter.

No words were said as the girl held her sword and the daughter of the sea inched to the right slowly. The girl whipped her free hand forward, two more vines shot out from the ground. Rhode dodged them and charged, using her shield to swat away another vine and got in nice and close.

The girl swung her sword, but Rhode blocked it with her shield and countered her spear. The girl backpedaled and vines sprung from the ground, grabbing Rhode's spear and snapped it harshly in half. Rhode moved left to dodge some vines and flipped the broken shaft and swung it like a club, beaming the side of the daughter of Demeter's right knee. She buckled from the blow and was pushed to the ground with a shield bash, her sword clattering out of her hand. Before the girl could even get up, the splintering tip of the broken shaft was pointed at her throat, Rhode standing over her with daring eyes.

"Wow, you're good." The girl gulped, the bobbing of her throat brushing the splinters ever so lightly.

Rhode kept her pinned as Gaige ordered her one brother (after freeing him) to take the daughter of Demeter to the CTF jail. The other two Demeter kids had been knocked out.

Rhode didn't even know there was a jail. Weird. She moved to grab a celestial bronze sword dropped by one of the boys' from Cabin four, weighing it in her hand.

"Can you use that?" Gaige arched a brow questioningly.

Rhode gave the sword some practice swings, getting a feel of it. Nice grip, almost three feet in length. After doing a practice stab, she twirled it in her hand and rested the flat side on her left shoulder, "I've dabbled." Was all Rhode said on the subject.

"Well, if you say so. Now, onward, for the win!" Gaige declared playfully with a skip in her step as they moved on. Gaige tried to make small talk with Rhode, but she wanted to just get the flag. Gaige did most of the talking for them, she was a bit of a chatterbox. The older girl finally stopped when they made it to the flag, which was guarded by a son of Demeter and daughter of Apollo.

Gaige pulled out what looked like a hockey puck from her tool belt and tossed it like a disk. She told Rhode and her brother to turn around. It landed right between the red team members and exploded into a bright flash, temporarily blinding them.

The daughter of the smith smacked the son of agriculture with her hammer as Rhode moved to take down the other one quickly, but her sword clashed with the daughter of Apollo's who had recovered surprisingly fast. Maybe because she was a child of Apollo, bright lights didn't bother her too much?

Rhode grunted, using her shield to defend herself and swung low quickly, parrying with her opponent. The daughter of Apollo slashed rapidly, Rhode blocking each blow with her shield and lashed out her foot. Her heel collided right into the girl's knee, getting a gasp of pain. Rhode followed up by swinging her sword hard, slapping the weapon out of her opponent's hand. Rhode swung the edge of her shield, hitting the girl across the face, making her wobble and fall to the ground, knocked out. Rhode released a breath, panting from the small fight.

"Okay, girl, you've got moves." Gaige whistled with a grin. She jogged up and took the ten foot long blood red flag that had a boar and spear on it, "Let's get back to the creek," she said getting quick nods.

They did so and saw that red team, with Fergus leading them with a pair of wicked looking celestial bronze gauntlets, was wrestling control for the creek against blue team. The son of war was going at it with Nils, who was wielding a sleek looking sword.

Gaige clicked her tongue, "This is going to be a pain," she said since the red team saw them and was coming right at them.

"I got this," Rhode said, stepping forward and felt that all too familiar tug in her gut. The creek rose and moved to her will. It splashed over the red team in surprise, making them sprawl onto the ground, sputtering and spitting out water. Rhode then separated the creek, making a straightaway of land.

"Blue team, hold up the defenses!" the counsellor of Athena cabin declared as they promptly kept red team at bay as he saw what the daughter of the sea was doing, "Guard Gaige!"

"Nice one, newbie!" Gaige grinned and ran across with the flag. Fergus tried to stop her but Nils kept him on his toes. But even then, Gaige had already touched foot on the other side, electing the son of Ares to curse rather colorfully.

The flag turned a rust orange with a fiery hammer on it, "Winner winner baby!" Gaige cheered, waving the flag up high as a girl from red team burst out of the woods with a silver flag with a barn owl on it. She saw Gaige and looked annoyed, putting a hand on her hip and tossing the flag to the side.

Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn to sound the end of the game.

Blue team lifted Gaige into the air with cheers and applause. Rhode smiled as the infectious excitement of the victory washed over her. Luke joined Rhode, smirking at the win. Though he looked annoyed at the girl who had their flag, brushing out some dirt in his hair. Annabeth ran up to them, cheering loudly, doing a little dance that made Rhode smile even more along with Luke.

Capture the flag was a lot of fun.

* * *

><p>Rhode was currently sitting at Thalia's tree as she drew in her sketchpad. Trying to let her creative juices flow.<p>

The daughter of Poseidon was shading in the clouds of her landscape sketch. A frown came to her face and started to erase her picture and broke her pencil from the force she exerted. Her frown turned into a scowl and she chucked the pencil behind her in anger. She started to pat her pockets for another one.

"Hey, watch where you throw things." The voice of a boy said behind her, getting Rhode to jump up and spin around in alert, holding her sketchpad to her chest.

He was rather slim looking. He had hair as white as snow, skin almost as pale, and striking icy blue eyes that were twinkling like sun off ice, as a large smile was on his face, showing snowflake-like teeth. He was in a blue hooded sweater, frost collecting around the ring of the collar and wore tanned shorts while being barefoot.

Oh, and he was hovering in the air with cross-legged as a staff with a G-shaped arch, which looked like a shepherd's crook, laid across his lap. In his thin fingers was her busted pencil, "You know, nymphs don't take kindly to littering. You'll end up with mud and bugs in your bed."

"Who are you?" Rhode asked in surprise, getting the boy to smile wider.

He landed, showing he was taller than her. When his bare feet touched the grass, frost started to come about, "Name's Jack Overland. Son of Khione." He winked at her, "Pleasure, Princess."

Rhode gave him a glare, "Don't. Call. Me. Princess."

Jack raised a white brow, "Oh? You're Poseidon's kid, right? He's a king, so why not call you a princess, Princess?"

"Because it's Rhode." She sternly said, "So what do you want, Snowflake?"

Jack grinned, "Well, I heard from Castellan you can do a little icy fun. But then you throw a pencil at my head."

The green eyed girl ignored the pencil comment in favor of giving him this weird look, "Icy fun?"

"Oh yeah," the snow demigod smiled as he held out his hand and what could be considered the perfect snowball was formed in less than a second, "Ever have a snowball fight in summer? Best thing ever, period."

Rhode frowned, "No, can't say I have. Plus, I'm a little busy."

"Without a pencil?" he asked, getting a pouty frown from Rhode. He had a point, she was penciless.

The boy grinned as the snowball turned into powders, swirling into a vortex in his palm, "Come on, don't tell me you don't like snowball fights? I was just about to get a game together."

"In August?" Rhode said with bewilderment.

"Well, I usually do it in July, but this works too."

The daughter of Poseidon gained a contemplating look, "Well…"

"Come on," Jack said, taking her arm and started running down Half-Blood Hill.

"Hey!"

"Oh chill, you'll have a blast!"

"Ugh, fine. Whatever. Just let go of my arm! I can walk by myself."

"If you say so." he just grinned at her.

And it was one of the best snowball fights in summer (her only one really) Rhode ever had.

She got Jack good though for calling her Princess.

Seriously, her? A princess? Yeah right!

* * *

><p>Rhode was currently in arts and crafts with Annabeth.<p>

And Annabeth was facing her biggest conundrum of the activity.

Should she use the blue or the yellow crayon?

"How's it going, guys?" asked the head councilor of Cabin Seven, Atlanta. She was fifteen with short dyed bright red hair with wild bangs and sky blue eyes. She was a little taller than Rhode herself and had two gold earrings in the rim of each ear and wore the usual camp attire with black and white Nikes.

"Great!" Annabeth answered as Rhode just shrugged, shading in her picture.

"So," Atlanta clapped her hands with a bright sunny smile, "Let's see what you guys got." She said and look at the pictures.

Annabeth made a colorful two floor house with stick figures of what the daughter of Apollo figured was Annabeth, Rhode and Luke, all holding hands with the little blonde in the middle as they smiled and a pine tree was near them, "Very nice, Annabeth." Atlanta praised kindly as the young girl smiled at that.

"Rhode?" and the daughter of the sea gave her paper. What Atlanta saw was, well, dark, "Very, nice." the red head said simply.

"Thanks." Rhode said, planting her elbow on the table and rested her cheek in her palm.

The daughter of Apollo smiled and looked up at the sun, "Well, time for the next activity girls. See you here tomorrow?" she asked both and got an enthusiastic nod from the wise child and a shrugging okay from Rhode, "Cool. I've got a collab Tracking Skills class with Cabin Four, see ya." Atlanta said and headed off.

As the two young demigoddesses left the arts and crafts area, Annabeth said to her older friend, "So what are you going to do now? I have Monster Takedown Tactics with my cabin." She asked her older friend since she got to pick all her own activities.

"Honestly? I think I'll just go for a swim. Relax a little." Rhode lightly said.

"You always go swimming." Annabeth muttered.

Rhode felt defensive at that, "Because I feel like it…" the daughter of Poseidon said sharply, "I'll see you around dinner." She said, parting with her friend.

Annabeth's grey eyes just looked at Rhode's back as her shoulders slumped. The little girl wanted to help her friend feel better…but she just didn't know how.

As Rhode was mindless heading to the ocean to just clear her thoughts, she collided into someone, landing on her butt along with the other person as stuff clattered to the ground.

"Dammit, watch where-Grover?" Rhode said as her building anger faded instantly.

"Rhode!" Grover, her satyr buddy, said and scrambled to his goat legs and helped her up quickly, "You okay?! I-I'm sorry, I was carrying stuff and I couldn't see, and-!"

"Grover, deep happy breathes, you're rambling."

The twiggy goat boy turned pink and did so. After a few breathes he said, "Thanks." He said as he sullenly picked up the brooms and horse feed he was carrying.

Rhode blinked and helped him get all the stuff back into his hands, "What are you doing? I, well, I haven't seen you for a while."

Grover turned his head, eyes sadden, "Well, you know, I've, uh, been assigned stable duty…for a year." He mumbled the last words miserably.

Rhode just looked at him strangely, "Shouldn't you be out there looking for Pan?"

Grover just gave her more sad goat eyes and an empty smile, "You really think they'd let a failure look for Pan?"

Rhode's chest tightened, her hands clenched, "Who the bleeding hell called you a failure?!" she demanded sternly.

Grover sighed, eying an ant hill, "Well, the Council of Cloven Elders. I mean, I was supposed to bring you and Thalia here, to be safe. 'Doing it half right doesn't count,' they said."

Rhode could only look at him in disbelief, "But, but! You got three demigods here, you got the child of Poseidon here! Are they mental or do they got peanut butter in their brains?"

"Peanut butter is good."

"Grover!"

"Sorry! You made me hungry." He mumbled.

"Tell me where these council guys are. Now."

"Um," Grover bleated, his tone nervous, "Why?"

"So I can beat some sense into them." Was Rhode's blunt retort.

"…Rhode, you can't just beat up the council!"

"Why not?" Rhode asked with a frown.

"Th-They're the council! Rhode, you just, you just can't!" Grover stammered as Rhode pouted and kicked some dirt up.

"It's not your fault though! They should know that!"

Grover said nothing, avoiding her eyes.

Rhode's green eyes looked at him in shock, "Grover…no! Come on, it, it isn't your fault that-" her voice tightened.

"I-I got to go. Congrats on that CTF match though, I heard you were amazing." Grover complemented with a big smile, showing how proud he was to have such a strong friend. He hefted the supplies he was holding, "See ya around, Rhode." He sulked away, looking like the world's saddest goat.

"…Grover." She mumbled, her anger spiked at the wrongs done to her friend. Ugh, everything was just so stupid! She marched to the ocean in an accelerated rate. Soon, Rhode waded into shore and dove in once the water once it was up to her waist.

A sense of comfort washed over Rhode as the ocean surrounded her. She felt this way every time she entered the ocean. Like it was greeting her with a hug. It was why she tried to always stay near the ocean when she was younger, it was a comfort, that her dad was always holding her.

A comfort that she had need a lot these days.

She continued to kick her feet as she went deeper and deeper into the Long Island Sound until she reached the sea floor. The daughter of the sea just laid on the shifting sand, staring up through the water with tired eyes.

"Hello, my dear." A voice said.

Rhode shot up and turned, seeing a face she hadn't seen in years that made her tongue-tied.

"Lady Thetis." She finally got out, her green eyes looking upon the Nereid as she rode on, "…And, Skittles?"

_Hi Lady Rhode!_ The female Hippocampus neighed happily.

Thetis dismounted from Skittle, gliding over to a large rock. A small smile came upon her face as she said, "You've certainly grown over the years, Rhode." She complimented, motioning for the girl to sit as well.

Rhode slowly complied and sat on the rock, "Well, it has been three years."

"Yes," Thetis nodded, looking her up and down, "It indeed has. You've both gained much and lost much."

Rhode turned her head to the side, "Yeah…I have." Skittles swam over and nuzzled against Rhode's cheek, getting a small smile from the girl as she rubbed the hippocampus' scaly mane.

Thetis gently took Rhode's right hand, bring her son's shield to life. Her fingers ghosted along the images idly, "When I had given you this…I had seen a vision." She confessed, "Greatness follows you, young one."

"Greatness…" Rhode said sharply, "I could do without greatness. I don't want it."

Thetis placed her hands in her lap as Rhode dismissed the shield, "Oh? In a way, all demigods seek greatness…or greatness seeks them. It can be called their gift and their curse."

"Fantastic." Rhode said sarcastically as she clenched her right hand and stared at her small fist, "I'd trade every single scrap of greatness for my best friend back." She stated sadly, "I mean, what's the point of being the child of someone so powerful if I'm weak when it matters most?" her voice sounded broken in a way, like shattered glass.

Thetis gave a humorless chuckle as she stared into the ocean, "My son felt the same after he nearly killed himself after losing Patroclus in grief. But that grief, it turned into rage, making him act like a lion, the Beast of Greece to those of Troy and their allies, making them shake in fear." She turned to Rhode, her eyes saddened, "But he is not the only with rage in them after losing a close friend, is he not?"

Rhode blinked and her mouth opened and closed a few times, "…No." She finally said, looking at her teal cuff bracelet.

"And you have reacted the same as he." Thetis stated, her tone holding a note of sorrow, "You've grieved, but that had soon turned into anger, has it not?"

The daughter of Poseidon couldn't say nothing, she was mad, angry at a lot of things.

The fact her life was cursed because of some oath, losing her mother and step-dad to a psycho, being with the Dursleys, hating Hades for hunting her like an animal, losing Thalia, hating Zeus for not even sending a damn bolt of lightning to save Thalia, and angry at herself for being so weak to help her friend.

"Every child of my lord holds an aspect of the sea." The nymph stated, her eyes felt like they were piercing into Rhode's very soul, "Your side of the sea is the calm before the storm, ready to snap at a moment's notice, but also that single peaceful moment of beauty before the storm comes. In the old days, your father was known for his fierce temper. He has mellowed in these current centuries, but it is still there, the sea after all can be very unforgiving. That anger of yours, you've inherited that from him. It is your flaw, your fatal flaw."

"My what?" Rhode blinked in confusion, not understanding the Nereid's words.

"A fatal flaw is a mental weakness all gods, demigods, and mortals have. Anger is yours, and if you do not control it young one," she brushed some of Rhode's hair behind her ear, "…it is not called fatal without clear reason."

Rhode had a frown on her face, uncertain of the sea nymph's words.

Thetis took Rhode's hands into her own, eyes of old and wise staring into eyes of young and uncertainty, and the nymph said two words.

"Let go."

Thetis noticed the skeptical look on Rhode's face. Alas, the youths were ever so unwilling to accept the wisdom of their elders. But Rhode would in the times to come, the seer knew this.

* * *

><p>In preparation to going to that magic school, Hogwarts, that had been sending all those stalker owls to get her to attend, Rhode and friends found themselves in the British magical shopping district Diagon Alley to get her supplies like a steamer trunk, uniforms (bleh), an owl, a wand, and books. Leading them around was Lee, who Rhode was pleased to note would be attending the school alongside her. Su Li, the Demeter girl she fought during that CTF match, was also attending, but hadn't joined them on their trip to Diagon Alley as she had already gotten her supplies earlier with her dad.<p>

First stop was Gringotts, the wizarding bank that was ran by goblins.

Oh, by the way, Rhode was famous in magical Britain. Lee informed her she was famous for slaying a Dark Lord named Voldemort at the tender age of one. He had killed her mother and step-dad for standing against him and tried to kill her too, but somehow failed.

The daughter of the sea honestly didn't care for the fame, but she wore her beanie tightly over her lightning bolt scar since that was her 'symbol' of fame. Stupid lightning bolt.

Annabeth was busy marveling at the architecture of the place, little stars in her eyes. She commented on how tiny the Goblins were, which made Rhode tease that the grey eyed girl was tiny too. That made Annabeth pouty as the older girl chuckled at her look.

After her identity was verified and Rhode got a new key for her vault, Lee had made sure Rhode looked at all her assets since the Potter's were a very old and powerful magical family.

The wealth Rhode had stunned her, she never had that much money before.

"But how much do you have?" Annabeth asked Rhode curiously.

"You remember that teddy bear you wanted?" Rhode asked, still mystified by how rich she was.

Annabeth nodded, it was one of those giant ones, like twice the size of herself.

"I could buy you a thousand of them, put you through Ivy League college, and still have plenty left over."

Annabeth's grey eyes widened to saucers, "…That's a lot of teddy bears."

Rhode had taken a folder of her accounts and such, like stock options, her assets, and other stuff. Now, Rhode was okay with money, but Luke usually looked out for their expenses. So she asked him if she wanted to be her accounts manager. The blond wasn't sure at first since this was something way bigger than he's ever done. But Lee cut in saying that he could get his mum to contact someone qualified to handle Rhode's finances. Rhode wasn't sure about letting someone she didn't know manage her money but she trusted Lee, or at least was starting to, and by extension his mum. Besides, it wasn't like she was stuck with whoever was recommended, she could give the person a try and if she wasn't happy with the results she could just find someone else later.

After the whole goblin bank experience, they group of demigods started to get Rhode's stuff for Hogwarts like her uniforms and an owl. She got a snow owl that Lee helpfully named Hedwig, after a famous German witch. They got the rest of the supplies, so now it was time to get Rhode's wand.

The group entered Ollivanders Wand Shop and met Garrick Ollivander. He greeted them and asked Jordan how his wand (an eleven inch dogwood with a Phoenix feather) was and Lee answered it was still sneaky. He asked for Rhode's wand hand. Rhode just shrugged, saying either and presented her right arm. The wandmaker measured it and the matching of the wand had begun!

Sadly, none of the wands worked for her, always getting an odd effect. Annabeth glared at her for giving her curly moustache as Luke ended up in a princess dress and said pink wasn't his color. Lee was smart enough to step out the shop, no doubt knowing this might happen for a first timer at the shop.

After another few tries, the wand maker decided to go into his more rare stock. The wand of straight-grained white wood carved with spiral designs and a smooth handle. Rhode picked it up and it felt like she was shaking hands with a long lost friend. She waved it and in an instant, Luke lost his dress and Annabeth had lost her facial hair.

It was a ten and three quarter inch white pine wand with a dragon heartstring core.

That made Rhode frown, that her chosen wand was pine of all things despite the fact that it was her dad's sacred tree.

Ollivander told her some lore behind the material. Pine wands enjoy being used creatively, and unlike some others, will adapt unprotestingly to new methods and spells but were sensitive to non-verbal spells. Many wand-makers have insist that pine wands are able to detect, and perform best for, owners who are destined for long lives. Ollivander himself had never personally known the master of a pine wand to die young.

Rhode didn't put much clot in some old wives tale, but decided to humor the man. So after picking up a holster for her wand, she paid the shop owner and left. After getting some ice cream, an absolute must according to Lee, the group headed back to camp.

* * *

><p>Rhode gave a cry as she charged forward with sword in hand.<p>

Luke levelled his sword and parried her swing, deflected a horizontal strike, and parried a stab. He moved in, going in for his own offense, getting Rhode to barely defend herself from his flurry of sword strikes. The daughter of Poseidon moved back, panting as she tightened her grip of her sword.

Luke's lips set into a small frown, Rhode was fighting far more aggressively then she used to. The look in her eyes, there was a whole lot of determination in them as she was putting her all in their spar. He remembered when it was just him, her, and Thalia, when they would train. They made sure they could at least use any type of weapon they had to a decent degree.

Thalia favored her spear. Luke favored a sword. Rhode on the other hand used her dagger, a spear, and could use a sword too. She was pretty decent with it and with practice, she'd be even better. The blond son of Hermes was knocked out of his muses when Rhode charged again, going low, leading Luke to block the strike and counterattack. Rhode blocked it and their swords clashed.

Rhode grunted, trying to push forward, but Luke was bigger, stronger, and was pushing back, forcing Rhode back as she struggled to keep her footing.

With a final push, Luke sent her to the ground. She tried to get up, but Luke had his sword at her chest, "My win, Rhode." He said, breathing out, slightly tired, but no worse for wear.

Rhode on the other hand was panting, blinking the sweat out of her eyes, "Yeah." She said, sounding disappointed.

Luke removed his sword and extended his hand, Rhode accepting it as he pulled her up, "You're getting better." He remarked.

"I guess." Rhode said as she looked at the sword in her hand with a frown, bouncing her wrist and weighing the blade. Maybe she should try to make her own sword in Arts and Crafts? The balance felt off on this one, it was too top heavy.

Annabeth jogged up to them, telling them that it was a cool spar. Rhode gave her a soft smile, planting her free hand on the little girl's head, ruffling it. It earned a whine from the daughter of Athena, but she still giggled and looked up at Rhode with a smile.

Luke sheathed his sword and couldn't help but frown. Annabeth seemed to be the only one to stir a smile out of Rhode nowadays. With a heavy sigh, he looked at that distant hill where a sole tree rested. A pang ripped from his heart and he looked back to his family. He knew why Rhode was trying so hard, why she wanted to get stronger…he felt the same.

Never again.

He would never feel that helpless ever again.

"-uke, Luke!" Annabeth's voice got his attention.

"Yeah?" he asked, getting her to puff up her little cheeks.

"You didn't hear? Me and Rhode are going to spar!" she said with delight.

Luke raised a brow at Rhode, who just shrugged, "I got some steam left in me. Plus," her tone turned a bit teasing as she looked at Annabeth, "It'll be a nice handicap."

Annabeth pouted at her, "Just for that, I won't go easy on you." She declared.

Rhode gave her a smirk, "I'd be insulted if you did, Bethy." She tossed Luke her sword, which he caught, and drew her dagger. Annabeth drew her dagger, holding it tightly with two hands.

Luke walked back to view the spar with interest.

Annabeth went in for an attack, but Rhode only shifted to her left, parrying the attack.

"Don't forget to use your size to your advantage." The daughter of Poseidon said, easily blocking another attack, playing defense, "When I was your age it saved my life plenty of times."

Annabeth charged in for a stab, but Rhode just rolled around the attack, inadvertently making Annabeth stumble and almost trip. The blonde spun around, narrowing her eyes.

The clashed some more, Rhode sticking to defense as Annabeth went swinging at her. To Luke, it was almost a mirror of their sparing match, just Rhode pointing out things to Annabeth.

The daughter of Poseidon deflected another strike as a twinkle went through Rhode's eyes. In a second, she rushed forward, startling Annabeth as she went to defend herself. A second later, the blonde's hands were grasping air as her dagger clattered to the ground nearby.

"Ow!" Annabeth yelped as Rhode bopped her head with the flat of her dagger.

"I win." Rhode winked at her. Annabeth looked to her friend, then turned to her dagger, and then back to her friend.

"How'd you do that?" she asked, needing to know.

Rhode arched a brow, "Disarming you?" Annabeth nodded rapidly, her curly blonde hair bouncing. "Just…something I picked up on the road." She said, sheathing her dagger.

"Can I do that?" the daughter of wisdom asked.

Rhode hummed at the question, looking at her, "I don't know…you'd have to be really good with a dagger. You might not be able to." She said with a slight teasing edge.

Annabeth puffed up, "I can too!" she objected with a stomp of her foot.

"Really?" Rhode asked with mock uncertainty.

"Yeah!"

Rhode moved over and picked up Annabeth's dagger, looking at it. Old man Hal ran through her mind as she gazed upon it, then eyed Annabeth from the corner of her eye. She turned, walking back to her small friend and flipped the dagger upside down, handing it to the girl.

Annabeth grasped it firmly and Rhode said, "Well, how about this? You have to promise me to train really hard while I'm gone and I'll teach it to you for your birthday, okay?"

Annabeth looked at the dagger in her hands and then back to Rhode's eyes, "But I wanna learn now." She pouted, getting Rhode to ruffle her hair.

"You gotta pace yourself, Annabeth."

"…Okay." The daughter of Athena relented.

Rhode just gave her a soft smile, she glanced at Luke, who gave one back, and relished these last few days she had left with her family before leaving for Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>Rhode was currently sitting in front of Chiron at the table on the porch of the Big House. With him in his wheelchair form.<p>

On the table between them was the plastic spyglass scope.

"Thank you for coming, Rhode." He said to the young demigoddess.

"Look, Chiron," Rhode sighed, "I know what this is about…it's just…I don't feel-"

But Chiron cut her off with a raise of his hand, "Rhode, I can understand that. But this is a gift from your father, you should cherish it."

"I do! It's just-"

"The gods do not always give out such personal gifts to their children, my dear. A gift such as this should not be ignored, trust me, I knew this one fellow…well, you can figure it out I'm sure."

Rhode frowned that.

"Do you not need a replacement from the loss of your spear?"

"I-I have my dagger and shield."

"I thought you favored polearms?"

The child of Poseidon ducked her head at that.

Chiron sighed, picking up the disguised weapon, "A weapon gifted by Poseidon," he said, sliding the adjuster and bringing the weapon to life, "And it is excellently crafted. I would say by the Cyclops forges in fact."

Rhode looked at it, "It's got good balance," she admitted, making Chiron smile.

"See?" the trainer said and was careful with his next words, "Would not Thalia want you to use the best equipment you could?"

Rhode stiffened at that, looking at the weapon, "…Yes."

"And this is certainly the most splendid trident I've seen at this camp." The activities director admitted honestly, changing the weapon back to the spyglass, "What I am saying, my dear, is use it. I have no doubt you'd come to appreciate it in the times to come." Chiron stated as he placed it back on the table.

The daughter of the sea just looked at the weapon in disguise and sighed sadly.

"You must think me a brat, Chiron." Rhode said with a sullen look, but the trainer just shook his head.

"You're not a brat, Rhode, you're just grieving. It is a difficult process that we handle in our own way." He consoled gently and his young charge took the device and brought the weapon to life once more.

"Thank you." The daughter of the sea said kindly, gripping the trident tightly, "A name…such a handsome weapon needs a name."

"Opinion?" the trainer asked in mild amusement, but Rhode just shook her head, smiling down at her trident.

"I'll think about it…" the sea child trailed off.

* * *

><p>It was early in the morning, around six thirty on September first.<p>

Rhode had a pensive look on her face as her hands dug into Thalia's leather jacket pockets. She had grown over the summer and was five foot two now. The daughter of the sea was in a pair of Levis and wore a Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt as her green and black stripped beanie was over her head. Her right hand, with her cuff bracelet ever present, reached up and pulled it off, showing her now short hair. It was kind of choppy and slightly messy, but it fit her in a way. Her wild bangs had streaks of fiery red auburn in them that hid her lightning bolt scar too, giving her that rebel look.

Around her neck was her leather necklace and right next to the pearl was a white clay camp bead with a pine tree on it. Thalia becoming a pine tree had been voted the biggest event of the summer, so they gave the painted bead to all the campers at the end of summer that.

"Hey, Porcupine head." She said in a sad tone to Thalia, "I…I'm leaving now." She told her best friend, hoping, praying, she could hear her somehow, "I'll be gone for a while, but I'll be back for Christmas." The daughter of the sea added quickly, but paused, trying to think of the right words to say.

With breath, the sea child continued, "Like Hal said, my life isn't going to be easy." She placed her palm softly on the, bark of the strong pine, as rough and hard as Thalia's own attitude. "The gods…they can throw whatever at me, but I'm not going to die, I refuse to." Rhode sternly said, her palm closing into a fist as she held it against the tree, "Because, I'm not just living for myself…I'm living for Luke, for Annabeth…for you." She stated with a hitch of her breath, "Just, watch over our family, okay Thals?"

Rhode moved closer and hugged the tree tightly, "I love you, Thalia, always." She whispered as she pushed back the tears that wanted to spill out, she had to be strong. She let go of the pine and looked at it once more, burning it into her mind.

"Hey! Rhode! Time to leave, we aren't waiting for you!"

Rhode scowled, "Can it, Jordan!" she shouted back, "I'm coming!" she turned to leave in a small trot, but paused after few steps and gave Thalia one last look.

"I'll be home soon, Thalia." She said and started to run to the campfire where Lee, Su Li, and Chiron in his wheelchair (to hide his horse body) was. Annabeth and Luke were also waiting so they could see her off, "And I'll be stronger, just you see."

As the kids used the floo connection to King's Cross station via the campfire, Rhode gained a determined look.

Yeah, she was going to be stronger.

She'd never fail her family again.

That was without question.

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><p><strong>Special thanks to Sieg as always. XD<strong>

**First off, happy New Year everyone, yay 2015! Next, thank you for being so patient with my bereavement leave. It was a difficult time for my family and I, but I will not drone on about the details for you. Your support was wonderful and appreciated greatly. Thank you, most truly. So let's start this New Year off with a bang! Whoo!**

**Now, I am back into the swing of things and I think you'll enjoy the coming content as we finally get into the Hogwarts Arc! Know that it will indeed be condensed but only after certain aspects are introduced for the Potter-verse. And oh boy, wait for the summers, do I have plans for them.**

**Rhode's Fatal Flaw has been confirmed! Anger. For those of you who thought Personal Loyalty would be it, like Percy, shame on you. Like I would do that. Just because they have the same parent, does not mean they have the same fatal flaw. Rhode gets her daddy's temper since Poseidon has been very well known for his anger in the myths. Something we rarely see in the Percy-verse, frowny face. So I decided to give Rhode a stormy sea persona to Percy's peaceful sea persona. Like the summary says, the ocean has many faces. I've shown small hints to this in the fic so far, try and find them if you can.**

**Rhode's wand is of course different. Pine, if you look at the Potter Wiki can give you the full details of it and yes, along with ash, they are sacred to Poseidon. I thought it would be a bit of a twist what with Thalia's current situation along with the wives tale with pine wand owners. The Core, Dragon Heartstring, will of course affect her magic differently than a Phoenix feather, check the wiki for details. For those interested in Su's wand, it's a cherry wood with unicorn hair, seven inches. Just throwing it out there since I stated Lee's wand.**

**For those of you who are curious, Rhode's new weapon, her trident (yet to be named) is somewhat based off Aquaman's from the Injustice: Gods Among Us game. You know, the one where Aquaman is badass! But that's just me. Its shaft is smoother though. The mortal item is a hammers quick action mini monocular spy glass spotting scope. Yes, it has a lot of words in it. Nifty little thing though.**

**Sieg: Let's make this fun. Submit a name you think would fit Rhode's trident. It may or may not be used but hey, you'll get a chance to say you had a part in the story.**

**Okay, now let's get into the OC demigods introduced in the fic thus far.**

**Gaige is from the game Borderlands 2. Yes, I just had to. She rocks! XD Expect a flying, legless torso of pure AWESOMENESS from her! And other crazy stuff that you can imagine Gaige would do. And no, she does not have Pyrokinesis, that's Leo's shtick, just putting it out there. So don't ask me. But she can light things up.**

**Atlanta from the Canadian show: Class (not Clash) of the Titans. Only her ancestry now makes far more sense than it did in the show. Honestly, that was just one of my biggest irks with the series.**

**Fergus drew inspiration from Fergus Reid from Wolfenstein: The New Order. Well, personality wise, sorta. Fergus is Scottish also means: Man of Strength. I thought it would fit. That's it to be honest. We'll get into him more when the summer rolls around.**

**Nils is based off Nils Nielsen from Gundam Build Fighters. Yes, I watched it. It was awesome and I wished it was a real thing.  
><strong>

**Jack Overland is Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians, love that movie! XD Plus, I think his heritage is interesting. And yes, Overland is his name, look it up on the wiki.**

**Now, onto the magical demigods.**

**Lee was an interesting choice since first off, he hangs out with the Weasleys, real cool dudes they are. So, why not a son of Hermes hangout with some other pranksters? It just fit nicely to me since Lee is a slick dude.**

**Su Li, a Harry Potter character with only a name. So basically she was an already built-in OC. Thank you Rowling. We will get more into Su's character later on in the book, I hope you enjoy her.**

**Now, please review, no flames, and peace off!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey**

**Year One: To Magic School I Shall Go **

**Beta: Siegfried01**

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><p>Stepping out of the brilliant grass-green flames, the first thing Rhode saw was the scarlet metal of the steam engine perched on the tracks, the metal glinting in the sunlight, almost as if winking at them. The dull roar of hundreds of conversations filled their ears as family after family bustled about: parents chatting with each other, children forgetting their toads, cats or what have you, people loading their luggage onto the train and old friends catching up after the break. A sign hanging overhead had: Hogwarts Express, embossed proudly in metal next to a clock reminding Rhode that she had around twenty minutes until the train left. Glancing around, she could just make out a wrought-iron archway in the distance, the words "Platform 9 ¾" shining proudly on it.<p>

Annabeth was in awe of the train as Luke looked on, a touch impressed.

"Now," Chiron said from his wheelchair, "Rhode, Su, I wish you luck in your first year." He smiled fondly at them, like he'd known them for years instead of a single short summer, "If you have any questions, you can ask Lee," he looked to his left, which was empty, "Who is gone…again," the trainer said in a flat tone. He pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something about leashes, "Well, if you need help, just seek him out. He's more reliable then he makes himself out to be." He sounded as though he was saying it more to himself than to the girls.

"Right Chiron," Rhode replied, Su nodding her agreement from behind her.

He pulled out four gold coins that looked about the size of Girl Scout cookies, giving two to each witch, "Now, if you need anything, use these to I.M. myself or just to say hello or if you wish to call your friends at camp. If you have any questions about how it works, once again, ask Lee." He added to their confused looks, "Finally-"

"Su!" A deep male voice said and Su turned around, letting out a squeal of happiness.

"Father," she declared, dashing towards the tall and handsome looking Chinese man in wizard robes. He had short rich black hair, a small goatee, and solid black eyes. He picked up his daughter, hugging her tightly, "You came?"

"Wǒ de xiǎo bǎo bèi (My little baby), do you really think I'd let you go off to school without a sendoff?" he questioned in a mock hurt tone with his accented English. Su flustered with embarrassment as he put her down, looking at the disguised centaur, "Ah, forgive me, Master Chiron," he bowed his head, "I did not mean to interrupt you."

Chiron waved it off, a smile on his face, "Think nothing of it, Mr. Li." he greeted in return with a bow of his head, and gestured to Rhode, "I was merely saying my final words to them."

"Ah, another student," Mr. Li smiled towards Rhode, "I hope that you and my Su get along." Su's cheeks pinked further at her father's actions.

"Um, sure." Rhode rubbed the back of her head as Luke snickered at her answer, getting a mock glare.

"Now, as I was saying." Chiron started, "I can only ask you to have fun, keep up your training, and work hard in your studies." The trainer said and pulled out some books from his satchel, "These will also help you."

Rhode took her set and read the titles: Math, Science, English-To-Greek-To-Latin Dictionary…wait a minute!

"This is mortal school stuff?" she said in horror as Chiron nodded.

"Just as you are getting a magical education, a mundane one is just as, if not more, important."

Rhode looked ready to argue, she hadn't been in mortal school for years! But Chiron had a strange stern glint in his brown eyes, making her look to the side, "Yeah, okay." She mumbled. Man, she hated math!

"I've marked out the assignments I want you to do over the course of the term at Hogwarts and I expect a good portion done by Christmas break." He explained but soon smiled again, "Now, on to the train you two." He ushered them, "Good luck."

"It was nice meeting you young Miss, I do hope you and my daughter will get along. Enjoy your trip to Hogwarts." Su's father said in parting as he took out his wand, levitating his daughter's truck and they left together to board the train.

Rhode adjusted her new black nylon backpack after putting the school books in her trunk. She looked at Luke while taking one side of her trunk. He nodded, grabbing the other handle as Annabeth picked up Hedwig's cage. The two had gotten along very well since Rhode purchased the owl, with the daughter of Athena even trying to teach Hedwig to fetch.

"I'll be here when you get back children," Chiron told Luke and Annabeth, who nodded.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the windows to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. The group made their way down the platform in search of an empty seat. As they did, the trio of demigods passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," the old woman he was addressing sighed in response.

The group pressed on through the crowd until they found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Annabeth brought in Hedwig's cage first as Rhode and Luke lifted the trunk into the overhead.

"There," Luke clapped his hands, turning to smile at the older demigoddess, "All set, Rhode."

"Thanks, Skywalker," the daughter of the sea smiled as Annabeth set Hedwig down.

"I'm going to miss you," the little girl said, hugging Rhode around the waist. A part of her did want Rhode to learn magic, but the other part didn't want her to leave after just losing Thalia.

Rhode wrapped her arms tightly around her little friend, "Hey, I'll be back at Christmas, we'll have lots of fun. Plus, I've got Hedwig. I can write to you." She assured the daughter of wisdom.

Annabeth looked up at her with those big beautiful grey eyes, "Can you write every day? And, and you got to tell us everything you're doing too. And the classes, and the teachers, if they really look funny too. And, and-"

"Wow! Slow down there Bethy! I promise I'll keep in touch. I can't promise I'll write every day, that's crazy, but I'll certainly try," Rhode cut her off with a laugh at how Annabeth chattered like a chipmunk when she was excited.

Pleased with the answer, Annabeth nodded, her blonde curls bouncing.

"Don't I get a letter?" Luke asked with a mock downtrodden look, getting a grin from Rhode.

"Only if you're good." she instructed.

"I'll try, but I won't any make promises," the blond boy shrugged. All of a sudden, seemingly overcome by his emotions, Luke gave her a hug, one Rhode returned. He released it and clasped her shoulder, looking at the leather jacket with sad blue eyes. Rhode saw his line of sight and looked saddened too, she had wanted Thalia to see her off…

"Hey," the son of Hermes said in a soft voice, "I know, I know we haven't…" he struggled with his words, neither had talked about it, the loss of Thalia was still too fresh for either of them, "Just remember, Rhode." He squeezed her shoulder supportively, "She's right here with you, watching out for you."

Rhode placed her hand atop his, giving a small sad smile, "I know." Was all she said as they gave each other another hug. Annabeth jumped into the hug, sniffling a few tears as the two hugged her tightly.

"Come on, Annabeth, Chiron's waiting." Luke said, regaining control of himself, taking the small girl's hand. They left the compartment, "Have fun, Rhode, kay?"

"Bye, Rhode, don't forget to write!"

Rhode waved, "I won't. Bye guys." She said and plopped onto the bench, sitting down next to the window. Peering out, she could see a red-haired family on the platform saying their farewells and something about a toilet seat.

Gods, it was so weird to be back in the U.K. Her accent had dwindled over the years in America, but it was still there. For so long it had been practically the only British thing in her life. So hearing British accents all around now, after so long? It was just surreal.

She had to shake off the nagging feeling in her mind, all throughout her childhood a British accent was synonymous with her relatives. Now, of course, they weren't anywhere near her, but Rhode still couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty.

As the train began to move with a jolt. Rhode saw Annabeth and a little girl with ginger hair chasing after the train until it gathered too much speed, then they both fell back and waved, making the daughter of Poseidon's lips tug upwards.

Rhode watched the station disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Rhode shuffled through her backpack, taking out her sketchpad to pass the time. Before she could get start drawing however the door slid open. It was the ginger haired boy with freckles from the family she saw earlier.

"Anyone sitting there?" He asked, pointing at the seat opposite Rhode. "Everywhere else is full."

Rhode regarded him with a shrug. She doubted that the train was as full as the boy was making it out to be but as an opening line to get entry into an occupied cabin it was as good as any. Not the best, mind you, but still acceptable. Regardless, the daughter of the sea didn't really mind having some company. Taking Rhode's shrug as the acceptance it was, the boy sat down. Rhode studied her new companion for a brief moment before deciding that at least for the moment she had better things to do then strike up a conversation with a stranger, she had months at Hogwarts to do that after all, and so, she took out a mechanical pencil and started doodling instead, her leg bouncing from her ADHD.

"Hey, Ron." A pair of twins that looked like older versions of this Ron kid exclaimed as they put their heads into the compartment together, "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron.

Huh, so that's why Annabeth was all fidgety around Lee. As a child of Athena, Annabeth was madly arachnophobic. Rhode was going to have a talk with Lee about his new pet later.

"Hey, Ron, who's this?" asked one twin, looking at Rhode.

"Um, I don't know, just sat here was all."

"Sigh, our Ickle Ronniekins, so socially awkward."

"Indeed. Can't even introduce himself? A stain on our family's honor!"

"Let's do it for him," the other twin said, "We're Fred and George Weasley, also known as the amazing Gred and Forge," at this they bowed exaggeratedly, promoting a small smirk from the girl. "And this is Ron, our little brother. You?"

The demigod looked up from her sketchpad after a moment, "Rhode." She said briefly, before promptly returning to her drawing.

Unbeknownst to Rhode, who had returned to her doodling, her rude introduction had caused the twins to exchange a look and with it a silent conversation. With a determined nod from both of them, they turned towards the withdrawn girl in the hopes of drawing her out of her shell and hopefully help their brother get himself a new friend.

"Nice hat," Fred (Or was is Gred...maybe Forge? Or even George), complimented.

"Thanks," She replied even as pushed her beanie down more to cover her scar, just in case.

"Well, nice meeting ya, got to split," George, maybe, said.

"Ron! Find out what she's drawing over there, okay? We're curious but Lee's tarantula beckons! Toodles!" Fred, maybe, stage whispered in parting as he sauntered off after his twin.

Rhode blinked at the twins' obvious attempt to strike up conversation between their brother and herself, and waited for Ron to pick on it. But after a couple of minute's ticking by and him failing to do so, Rhode just returned to drawing absentmindedly. After another few minutes or so though, Ron finally seemed to build up his courage to get over his social awkwardness and asked, "Whacha drawin'?"

Rhode shrugged, "Just anything that comes to mind." She looked down at the cartoonish Kung-Fu sea otter she had dubbed Daniel. Deciding to show her artwork, she flipped over her sketch pad, "This is Daniel, and he knows Kung-Fu."

"What is he? He looks like my pet rat. A lot cooler, mind you." Ron commented on Rhode's sketch.

"He's a sea otter!" Rhode noted indignantly, at once offended by his implied slight against her drawing skills and because of the small soft spot she had for sea otters. "Seriously! The two animals look nothing alike!"

"Maybe in real life… But look here," Ron rebutted and took out his pet rat, Scabbers. "Look at Scabbers and tell me your drawing doesn't look like him!?"

"Maybe a little…" Rhode reluctantly admitted, a sour look on her face. "Could you put him away? I'm not a big fan of rats." More than once had a rat tried to steal her food…it didn't end well for them. Plus they were just gross in general. Not that she was going to tell Ron that.

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields teeming with cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past as Rhode took out a disposable camera to take some blur shots for her collection. Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and asked if they wanted anything from the trolley.

Ron said he was good with his sandwich his mum gave him. But Rhode, curious about what kind of sweets the Wizarding World had to offer, stood up to look at the selection and proceeded to ask the lady what each was. There were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Rhode had never seen in her life.

But there were no Skittles. What kind of backwater people were these guys?

Despite that, her curiosity still got the better of her and she used the wizard money to get a few items to try out. The pumpkin pasty was decent she noted. As she was eating her newly purchased candy she noticed Ron looking at his sandwich pitifully and decided to do her good deed of the day and gave the poor kid a break.

"What are these?" Rhode asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" Sure, she's eaten some strange stuff before, but frog was not on her To-Eat list.

"Muggle-born huh?" Rhode just shrugged. "They're not real frogs," said Ron. "See what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect - famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

"So basically baseball cards," Rhode surmised and unwrapped her Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name bAsul doelerDumb.

Thank you dyslexia.

"Who's the Merlin wannabe?" asked Rhode, tilting the picture back and forth, maybe it had a hologram effect?

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Dumbledore!" Ron gaped. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa – thanks."

_Huh, so that's Dumbledore…doesn't look very impressive,_ Rhode thought. She turned over the card…finding a jumble of cramped text that made her eyes hurt, "What's it say, the print's whacky." She lied. Ron nodded, taking the card and read it aloud:

_ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS_

_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling._

Ron gave it back to her as she turned the card back over and saw, to her astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"I think mine's broken."

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her... do you want it? You can start collecting. Mum always told me every witch ought to have a Morgana card, at least one." Ron said as his eyes strayed to the pile of a half dozen Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," Rhode shrugged, not really wanting a collection. "But in, you know, the non-magical world, people just stay put in photos." Seriously, if her pictures suddenly decided to leave, she'd be a bit pissed. She worked hard to get those shots! It was why she like photography, it captured that one perfect moment.

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"

Rhode stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave her a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Rhode looked at some of the other cards and noticed a Greek one, Circe…Rhode was pretty sure that she was the minor goddess of magic, not a mortal witch. Obviously these wizards couldn't get their facts straight!

Having had her fill of Chocolate Frogs for the moment, Rhode opened a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to give them a try. Ron warning her about the booger flavor ones and such as she did so. Rhode managed to get toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and even popped a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. It made Rhode give a tiny smile at seeing the seemingly unspoiled patches of nature. Grover would love it. She hoped he was doing okay, he looked so wrecked when she last saw him.

All the while that Rhode had been on the train, Hedwig was snoozing in her cage, plumage puffing up and down. This changed though when out of nowhere there was a hard knock on the door of their compartment. Startled by the sudden noise, Hedwig woke with a screech even as a round-faced boy Rhode had passed on platform nine and three quarters came in. He looked tearful. He asked if they had seen a toad, but both Rhode and Ron were clueless on its whereabouts, and the demigoddess was more preoccupied with calming down her own pet anyways then worrying about someone else's pet. The poor boy having no luck, cried a little and left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron when the door closed and Rhode finally managed to calm her owl down. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." He spoke of the prone rat in his pocket, "He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."

He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end as he pulled Scabbers from his pocket.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway," He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. She looked like a pompous beaver that got plugged into a socket, at least to Rhode.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She said as sat down uninvited. Ron looked taken aback.

Rhode snorted in mild amusement. The girl was forward, she'd her give that much.

"Er - all right." Ron cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. Well, he jolted a little but not much else. Rhode could sympathize with Ron. You really wouldn't know the difference if he was dead or not.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" The girl commented. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you." She said in a very fast, almost incomprehensible babble.

_Did she breathe at all during that? _Rhode thought in wonder. The only person she ever seen chatter as rapidly as that was Annabeth. If this girl's eyes weren't brown she'd have thought she was another daughter of Athena.

The Weasley was stunned for a moment before he muttered, "I'm Ron Weasley,"

"Rhode," the demigod said, leaning back in her seat.

"Do either of you know what house you'll be in?" she asked eagerly, continuing the conversation and completely forgetting the poor boy who had lost his toad and who she had left standing awkwardly at the compartment door "I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…" She seemed ready to keep at it but just then the sound of someone shifting from the direction of the compartment door caught her attention. "Oh! Neville! Sorry about that! I'll be with you in a minute. Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron as he threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell - George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

"You got played is what happened." Rhode told him with a smirk as the boy frowned, "What house are your brothers in?" she asked. She never did get the gist about the houses she could end up in.

"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin!"

"Er, so what?"

"Rhode, that's like the evil house! All the bad wizards come from there you know." He said in a whisper, "Even You-Know-Who."

Rhode raised a brow, "That Voldemort creep?"

Ron gasped at her, "You said his name."

"Um, dude, relax. You might break something," she said in response to how he was freaking out, "Besides, he's just some guy. Not some horrifying monster that wants to eat you." She'd fought plenty of those monsters. True, the guy killed her mum and step-dad, but she was more angry at him then afraid of him. Plus he was dead. Why be afraid of a dead man?

"Wow, Rhode, you're brave. I'll give you that." He said nervously as he calmed down, "What's your Quidditch team?" he inquired with interest, forgetting his earlier conclusion that she was muggle-born.

Rhode just shrugged as she had never heard of Quidditch and told him as such. Undeterred, Ron happily explained the sport to her. It was some kind of ballgame on broomsticks, so she wouldn't be playing that any time soon. He was just talking Rhode through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.

Three boys entered, the two bigger boys flanking the smaller one in the middle like bodyguards. The two 'bodyguards' were the size of Ares' kids, but were far fatter and dumber looking. The one in the middle looked like a constipated ferret, with pale blond hair that was…rather flamboyant.

"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Rhode Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Um, no." Rhode frowned, a sinking feeling in her gut, "Name's Evans."

"Someone said she was wearing a green and black hat." The girly boy said, looking pointedly at Rhode's beanie.

Yeah, Rhode was _so_ going to whup Lee's butt later. No way quiet little Su spilled the beans.

With a groan, she begrudgingly said, "Yeah, so what?" Ron gaped at this admission.

"You're Rhode Potter?!"

"Yeah, but I go by Evans now." she stated firmly. Rhode looked at pale boy, "What do you want?" she said in a rude tone, already not liking the kid.

"This is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Rhode raised a brow. Did he honestly say a James Bond line? Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

As if he hadn't just taken time to scathingly insult her new friend, the Malfoy boy turned back to Rhode. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to shake Rhode's. But she glared her sea green eyes at him, slapping it away.

"I do things _my_ way," she answered with bite, "Now get the hell out of here."

Draco Malfoy's cheeks tinged red, narrowing his eyes.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, it'll rub off on you."

Ron shot up from his seat, his fists balled.

"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"You heard him," Rhode said chillingly, slowly standing up until her back was erect, "Say it again." Anger pumped through her veins as her muscles tensed, coiling and ready for action.

Malfoy sniffed, "I said, you may just end up like your par-"

He never got to finish. The next thing Malfoy knew was pain as his back was slammed against the window opposing the compartment. His cries were cut off as Rhode pressed her forearm against his throat. His pale blue eyes looked down and nearly pissed himself at the hurricanes of fury in the green eyes of his attacker.

Crabbe and Goyle were stunned for a moment, before they went to help the blond boy.

Rhode quickly released Malfoy, spinning around and raised her fists to protect her face, like a boxer would. It was the basic form of Pankration. The fighting style her half-brother, Theseus and cousin, Hercules made. A mix of boxing and wrestling. She picked up a move or two from that one lesson she had at camp...before her house arrest. Combined with her street fighting skills...the outcome was a surefire conclusion.

The daughter of Poseidon come out the gate with a basic move -a kick to the stomach- at Goyle. The heel of her foot made the large boy double over. She swiftly went for a left hook, her fist making the boy's flabby cheek ripple as she knocked out a milk tooth, sending him to the ground.

Crabbe charged at her like a clumsy buffalo. Her ADHD helped her react and she went low, tackling his legs. Planting her foot firmly and using all her strength, she pushed up, using Crabbe's momentum to aid her as she flipped him in the air and he landed roughly on his back.

Rhode twisted around, her fist already coming down like a hammer, nailing him in the nose and breaking it rather bloodily. Goyle tried to get up, but a kick to the ribs made him go down again like a house of cards.

Rhode's fury locked onto Malfoy, who was scurrying away. But she didn't let him go. She tackled him down and lifted him up with her, slamming him against the window again. "Not so tough without your boys, huh?" she asked in a menacing tone.

"W-When my father-!" he let out a scream of pain when Rhode's fist buried itself in his gut. Making the boy hack and wheeze.

"Guess what?" the daughter of Poseidon said in a low dangerous tone, "Daddy isn't here."

A hand clasped onto her shoulder. Out of reflex, Rhode dropped Malfoy and punched, only for her fist to be caught by a smiling Lee Jordan, "Rhode! Having a party without me?" he asked with a pout, "Hurtful, just hurtful." His hand squeezed her shoulder a bit harder, "Let's leave your new friend alone, kay?"

"Not my friend." She spat.

"Right," Lee nodded, as he let go of her, "Hey, kid, run along." He tilted his head to the end of the car.

"I-I," Malfoy stammered, "When my father-!"

Rhode made a motion to punch him again, getting the boy to flinch. He fled, leaving his groaning goons behind. People in other compartments looked at Rhode, muttering some stuff she didn't care about.

Rhode turned and punched Lee in the arm.

"Ow! You punch _hard_ for a little girl," the son of Hermes whined, rubbing the area tenderly. But Rhode still glared at him.

"You told someone my name." Rhode glared at him.

Lee winced, "Okay, I might have, by absolute accident mind you, let it slip to Fred…who spread it like Greek fire. Now, what I say to him is supposed to be in confidence. So if anything, I'm the victim here."

"Don't try to silver tongue your way out of this, Jordan." Rhode told him, crossing her arms, "I've known Luke for over half a year, you don't think I'd know when he's tried to wiggle out of trouble?"

Lee sighed for but a moment before brightening up just as quickly, "Well, knowing the staff, they were just going to say Potter anyway. Make a show of it. Now you don't have to worry about people knowing later. I basically did you a favor, and I don't do favors for just anyone you know."

Rhode wanted to refute that, but knew she couldn't since it was most likely to happen. She growled a little, "Whatever," she spun on her heels and went back to her compartment.

"Maybe I should tell her that she's going to be in trouble," Lee thought to himself with a tap to his chin, but waved it off, "Nah, she probably already knows." With the decision made he whistled a jaunty tune and headed to his own compartment.

Rhode entered her compartment, after stepping on Goyle's back, and saw Ron gaping at her.

"I blinked and it was over," he said, but shook his head, "So you're, you know…"

"Yeah." Rhode frowned, "Problem?"

Ron shook his head rapidly, not wanting to get her angry, "No. But wow. How'd you do that?" he asked in awe.

Rhode shrugged, "Picked up a few things growing up. A little here, a little there." She said vaguely.

"Wicked," the ginger whispered. "I was going to jump in," he added quickly, "Just, you finished it too fast."

Rhode actually let out a chuckle of amusement, "Okay, tough guy."

They heard footsteps a second later and Hermione Granger had come in, "What's with all the commotion? And what happened to them?" she gasped while looking at Crabbe and Goyle.

"Collateral damage." Rhode told her with an uncaring shrug.

"You've been fighting?! You'll get in trouble before we even get there!"

Rhode glared at her, the girl's attitude was irking her, "Listen, they started it. I ended it. Simple as that."

Hermione frowned, "Fine, get in trouble. You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there."

"Thanks, bye." The daughter of Poseidon dismissed with a shooing motion. Hermione huffed, marching off. The demigod turned to Ron, "You've met Malfoy before?" she asked, wanting more info on the boy.

"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

"Typical," the demigod rolled her eyes, "Listen, you change first. I'll wait out here."

Ron nodded, closing the compartment door.

Rhode leaned against the window, turning her head to peer out of the window. It was getting dark. She could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train seemed to be slowing down.

She tugged Thalia's jacket around her tightly with calming breathes to cool her anger. That was what Thalia did for her, she could always get Rhode to calm down and it was vice versa for Thalia too. Sadness started to ooze from her heart, but she shook her head. Thalia wouldn't want her moping, she'd want her to be excited. She was going to freaking magical school!

Rhode didn't feel very excited.

Ron exited the compartment with black slacks, black shoes, a white dress shirt with a black tie and a grey jumper over it with a black robe.

Dammit. They just had to have uniforms, didn't they?

Rhode sighed, going into the compartment to face her fate. She was in a pair of black Mary Janes, grey shin high socks, a long grey skirt, a white button up blouse with a black tie, and a grey jumper with a black cloak.

…Holy Poseidon, it burned! The lack of individuality, it burned!

Rhode kicked off the Mary Janes, putting her NiceKicks back on. She loosened her tie, just letting it hang under her collar. She tossed the jumper, untucking her shirt, and rolled up her sleeves. The sea child tied Thalia's jacket around her waist. She looked at the black pointed hat that was assigned for first years, tossing it on the jumper and putting on her beanie and her black cloak.

She took a shuddering breath, "Aah, sweet individuality." Rhode smiled as she exited the compartment, Crabbe and Goyle had crawled away it seemed. Goyle left his tooth behind though.

"Wow," Ron said, "Didn't know we can change the uniforms."

Rhode shrugged, "I don't know either. But I don't care."

Ron just whistled, "Bold."

The child of Poseidon just smirked. She certainly liked to be.

A voice echoed through the train: _"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."_

Rhode secured her dagger under Thalia's jacket, pocketed her spyglass, and smiled fondly at her cuff bracelet. She saw Ron looking nervous, but she just advanced to join the crowd thronging the corridor, a confident air in her stride.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. The cold air barely bothering her as usual. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Rhode heard a loud voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

A giant of a man with a big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads, "C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed him down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Rhode thought there must be thick trees there. Man, she hated being in such tight crowds. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the giant man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud, "Oooooh!" As they laid their eyes on the castle.

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers, the warm dots of lights winking at them from the windows. In Rhode's opinion, it was whilst majestic and enchanting in its own right, a pale shadow in comparison to camp.

"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Rhode and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione (who looked aghast at Rhode's uniform modifications). "Everyone in?" shouted their guide, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. Rhode looked back to see Malfoy, a mischievous grin played across her face. She willed the water to splash him, getting the boy to sputter and look like a wet rat. A major improvement in Rhode's humble opinion.

The daughter of the sea looked into the lake, and saw things swimming around, some looking back at her in curiosity. Suddenly a large tentacle came out the water, scaring all the first years (except Rhode, who tensed) and patted the daughter of the sea on the head gently.

"Cool," Rhode grinned, there was a giant squid in the lake!

"Heads down!" yelled the guide as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said the man, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after the man's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Receiving an affirmative nod, the guide raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Rhode's first thought was that this person was going to be a pain. Ugh, authority.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the tall man.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was huge. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches and the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

Rhode wanted to take some pictures, but she doubted they'd look good with the torch light. She'd have to take them in the morning. Annabeth was so going to be jealous out of her little head after seeing them.

They followed McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Rhode could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here - but McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. Rhode frowned, not liking her personal space invaded so much. She had to force her hand away from the handle of her dagger peeking out from under Thalia's jacket.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Rhode had the strangest feeling her house wasn't going to be winning any cup this year.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on some students, before they landed on Rhode. The daughter of Poseidon just raised a challenging eyebrow, saying: Yes, this is what I'm wearing. Deal with it.

For a moment the Professor seemed ready to make a fuss over Rhode's attire but ultimately thought better of it, "I shall return when we are ready for you," McGonagall said at last. "Please wait quietly." With that she left the chamber.

Rhode crossed her arms behind her head, "Wonder how we're sorted." She mused, she glanced around and saw Su. She gave a small wave, one that Su returned and Rhode looked at Ron for his thoughts.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

Rhode didn't buy that and breathed out, her foot tapping impatiently. She looked around and saw that everyone else looked terrified. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Rhode tuned her out.

Then something happened that made her turn around with a hand on her hidden dagger- several people behind her screamed. "What the spume?" Rhode said in disbelief. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years.

They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Great, ghosts." Rhode muttered. She never had to deal with ghosts before. It put her on edge due to them being part of her uncle's domain. He could probably keep tabs on her or something with them. How...comforting. And creepy.

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line," the stern woman told the first years, "and follow me."

Rhode got into line behind a boy with sandy hair. Ron was behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of great thick double doors made out of ancient oak into the Great Hall.

Rhode had to admit, the place was rather swanky if you were into that whole medieval vibe. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets, a child of Hermes' dream dinnerware. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. McGonagall led the first years up there, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Glancing up, Rhode saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with artificial stars.

She heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in "Hogwarts, A History"."

Rhode quickly looked down again as McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put an old ratty patched up pointed wizard's hat. The daughter of Poseidon swore she saw something like it at a thrift shop in Kentucky.

The green eyed girl noticed that everyone in the hall was staring at it and decided to focus on it as well. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to SING.

Just after the first few words, Rhode blocked it out. Humming Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana to protect her musical sanity from this gods awful song. The applause of the entire hall got her attention, signaling it was over. The hat bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Rhode. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Rhode rolled her eyes, "You fell for that color spell." She reminded and Ron's ears pinked.

McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

The hat called out Hufflepuff for the girl as McGonagall called out other names in alphabetical order. A Ravenclaw here, a Gryffindor there, then some of the more snobbish looking kids went to Slytherin. Sometimes the hat said the house instantly, other times it waited a minute or two.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Malfoy, still dripping wet, swaggered forward when his name was called and the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. Loser.

There weren't many people left now. Su was called up and after a moment she went right to Ravenclaw, looking rather happy. Next came "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Potter, Rhode!"

Rhode scowled, knowing what was coming. Whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. It was like at camp with her being a child against the Oath of the Big Three. Only a few hundred more voices and with British accents.

"Potter, did she say?"

"_The_ Rhode Potter?"

Ignoring the rest of the whispers from the yammering masses, Rhode walked forward to the stool. McGonagall still didn't look pleased at her attire and Rhode still didn't care. Before she sat down, she told the woman, "I go by Evans now." The daughter of the sea took off her beanie, showing her dyed streaks of red and even more whispers broke out about as her unwanted audience caught sight of her lightning bolt scar.

One second she saw the hall full of people craning to get a good look at her like some rare animal. Next second, the hat fell to cover her eyes and she was looking at its black insides. Waiting rather impatiently by bouncing her leg, her ADHD acted up.

"Hmm," said a small voice in her ear. "Difficult. Oh, another demigod to sort? Poseidon? How rare! Let's see, you have quite a bit of talent... So where shall I put you?"

Rhode gripped the edges of the stool and thought, _Are you honestly reading my mind?_

"Yes, I am."

_Pick a house. Now._ Rhode thought. She did not want this thing in her head, reading her deepest thoughts. She felt violated and was ready to tear it off her.

"Oh, really? Well, you're loyal, but only to a select few. You're more likely to cause havoc in Slytherin with your attitude. While your mind is not bad, you're not overly academic." the small voice listed.

_Just put me in a damn house. _Rhode growled, the stalling was annoying her. She resisted the call of her dagger pressing against her back. Well, mortals weren't "important enough" for celestial bronze to cut...she wondered how it'd work on magical hats...

"Alright, alright. No need to think of pointy things. I have enough holes as is! With the heart of a lion in you, it has to be GRYFFINDOR!"

Rhode heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. She took off the hat and walked quickly toward the Gryffindor table, putting her beanie back on. She had gotten the loudest cheer out of all those called. This older ginger with a badge got up and went to shake her hand but she kept her hands in her pockets, making him look rather foolish. The Weasley twins were yelling, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

The daughter of Poseidon was going to be correcting people all year, wasn't she?

Rhode sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff she'd seen earlier, eying him wearily all the while. She could see the High Table properly now. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold throne (ego much?), sat Albus Dumbledore.

And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a dark skinned boy even taller than Ron, joined Rhode at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Rhode smirked when a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Rhode gave a light applause as others clapped louder. Ron walked over and collapsed into the chair next to her.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," said the Perfect, Percy Weasley, pompously across Rhode as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

Rhode looked down at her empty gold plate. She idly wondered how much she could get for it and that she was a hungry. She should've snuck some of those snacks in her pockets.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. It was a little creepy to see an old man that excited over children if Rhode was honest.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered.

Rhode instead groaned. Great, crazy old people were annoying to deal with. It was like that tin-foil hat wearing hobo from Texas all over again. She idly tapped a fork on her plate until it hit something.

Rhode glanced down and was mildly surprised to see the food appear out of nowhere. On the table was roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. And Rhode thought kids in the States were notorious for eating fatty food. Maybe there was a gym class here? Magical Water Polo sounded fun.

The food was okay, though a bit too fatty for Rhode's liking. She missed her burgers.

"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Rhode cut up her steak. She gave him a weary look. "Ah, manners, how unbecoming of me." He dipped his head, "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you - you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.

"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."

Rhode looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a nasty looking ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Rhode was happy to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.

"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.

"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding –gods she was going to get fat! They just spoiled you rotten here.

Living on the streets really gives you a perspective on things…especially ritzy desserts. At least she thought they were ritzy. Rhode's fingers danced over to a chocolate éclair, curious of the taste. It was good.

The guys around her talked about their families. Rhode mostly tuned them out since she couldn't really comment on hers, except for the kid who kept losing his toad, Neville. Seriously, the kid had a twisted family. They kept getting him to do dangerous things to try and trigger his magic. Didn't happen until he was eight and his uncle hung him outside and accidently let him go, and he ended up bouncing his way to safety.

Okay, so she shouldn't find it so twisted. Her camp had a climbing wall with lava and falling rocks. But for a mortal, wizard, whatever, that was just poor child raising in Rhode's opinion. On her other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons.

Rhode was balancing a spoon on her nose in boredom as her eyes darted to the High Table once again. That Hagrid guy was drinking rather heavily. McGonagall was talking to Dumbledore. A guy in a tacky turban was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.

It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past the turban dude and straight into Rhode's eyes - a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on her forehead, her balancing spoon clattering to the table as she hissed, clapping a hand to her head.

"What is it?" asked Percy.

"Nothing." Rhode guardedly said, wondering where the hell that came from. The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Rhode got a weird feeling at the teacher's look - a feeling that he didn't like her at all. Which she honestly shrugged at, lots of people didn't like her. Just ask any monster or the gods against her birth. The guy was really at the bottom of that long list.

"Who's the vampire?" she asked the Perfect.

"That's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job, the one in the turban. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

Rhode hummed as she went back to doing something productive, like her spoon balancing. Sea World, here she comes.

Finally, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins, "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Next, Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Rhode blinked her vivid green eyes…since when do schools have a death hallway? Her What-The-Hell-O-Meter just went into the red.

Ron asked his brother what that was about.

"I don't know," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."

"Because that's all that matters." Rhode said under her breath. She craned her head and heard the people were just whispering about the hallway. No one was outright freaking out about dying.

The hell was wrong with these people?

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Rhode noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather forced. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

No, not more terrible singing!

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed like a herd of dying walrus's.

Rhode just slammed her head against the table, covering her delicate punk rock ears. She prayed they wouldn't bleed out as she hummed Rock you like Hurricane. It was her favorite song, even though she didn't understand the lyrics. She just liked it because it had hurricane in it. Plus, the Scorpions were awesome!

"Ah, music," Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes as the madness finally ended, the Weasley twins still going with their funeral march. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Rhode was just about to do that, she wanted to know her sleeping quarters and plot out possible escape routes…she was still in survival mode, don't you dare judge her.

But suddenly, the stern looking McGonagall was on her…so she acted on reflex.

"I didn't do it." That's what you do. Deny, deny, deny.

McGonagall raised a delicate brow, "Headmaster Dumbledore wishes to see you, Ms. Pot-"

"Evans."

"Ms. Evans." The woman said, displeased she was interrupted. Meh, it was what Rhode did.

"I thought it was off we trot? You know, sleep." Rhode explained slowly, "I like sleep." She nodded.

"It is rather urgent. Follow me," the old woman crisply, turning on her heels and walked. The daughter of Poseidon rolled her eyes and mouthed 'Follow me' behind the woman's back with a funny face.

"In trouble on not even the first day." Rhode shook her head, Thalia would be proud.

* * *

><p>Rhode was bored already after hiking through the castle and coming before a rather large gargoyle.<p>

As McGonagall told the gargoyle something, Licorice Wands. The statue hoped left. So gargoyles played hopscotch? Meh, she wouldn't judge. McGonagall gestured her to go up.

This felt like that incident with the truancy officer in North Dakota all over again.

Rhode ascended up the spiral stairs and entered. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old people, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames, which was weird. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, was the shabby, tainted wizard's hat that read her mind a while ago. There were also lots of books, like Athena cabin number of books.

Oh, and there was a red bird roosting on a bird stand, snoozing away. It was sparking some fire too…the old dude had a phoenix. Who owns a phoenix!? Still, that gave the old guy some cred. Rhode would admit that.

And there behind the desk with twinkling eyes and a grandfather-ish smile was Dumbledore, clad in...purple robes, of all things.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Rhode felt uncomfortable to be alone in a room with him. Maybe it was out of memory of that one old guy who had offered her candy in his black tinted window van. Thalia was in the bathroom at the time so Rhode just ran towards the toilets because it frightened her. She told Thalia, who was washing her hands, about it and she was furious. The daughter of Zeus wanted to fry the guy, but he was already gone.

And that's why Rhode didn't trust old people, Dumbledore had that same disarming smile.

"Greetings, Rhode. Please, have a seat." The headmaster gestured.

Rhode did so with weary eyes, bristling at addressing her on a first name basis. "It's Evans, sir," the daughter of Poseidon said tersely, "You hardly know me."

A flicker of sadness entered those old eyes, "Ah, forgive me, Ms. Evans." He corrected himself, noticing her tensed posture. He laced his fingers on his desk, "I am sure you understand why you are here."

"If it's about the uniform, I'm not changing it. You're lucky I'm wearing this skirt," Rhode blanched and couldn't help but play Smart Alec. She knew why she was in trouble, but Rhode didn't care. Malfoy and his ilk deserved it.

"Yes." Dumbledore gave a chuckle, "Most unique of you, Ms. Evans."

"I strive to be an individual."

"Certainly nothing wrong with that." The old wizard nodded in agreement, "But alas, wardrobe is not the issue of this visit. Your…_altercation_ with Professor Snape's students on the train is."

"Technically, they weren't his students at the time." Rhode pointed out, "Plus, they started it."

Dumbledore raised a silver brow, "Oh, from what he reported, Mr. Malfoy and companions were merely trying to befriend you and you assaulted them."

Rhode snorted and leaned back into the armchair, crossing her arms, "I see how it is. Rich kids get all the perks in a school like this huh?" she said in a snide tone.

"No, but I would like to hear your side of the tale."

Rhode gave him a suspicious look before she told him _exactly_ what happened. Even the blow by blow details. Dumbledore was stroking his long beard, listening intently. After Rhode finished, the headmaster gained a contemplated look.

"I see." He said, "While indeed Mr. Malfoy's words were uncalled for. Your reaction was as well." He stated.

Rhode glared at him, "Well too bad. He wants to run his mouth, he should learn to back it up. Not hide behind his meat shields." She told him. Where'd this guy get off telling her how to act?

Dumbledore frowned, "We do not resort to violence in this school."

Rhode rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but bullying is allowed, huh? They mess with me, I mess with them right back. Listen, give me a detention or whatever." She brushed off his disapproving look, "I'd like to go to bed now."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, "There is one more thing I would like to discuss."

Annoyance filled Rhode's voice, "Yeah?"

"Where have you been for these past three years?"

Rhode blinked, looking right into the old man's eyes, "What's that got to do with anything?"

Dumbledore shifted in his armchair, his phoenix trilling sadly, "When you disappeared from the Dursleys-"

"I ran away." Rhode corrected him swiftly, eyes narrowing. She didn't want to hear about those jerks.

The headmaster let out a sigh, "You see, my girl, the home of the Dursleys had a protective charm on it."

"_Had_. Past tense." Rhode raised a brow, "So what?"

"It was meant to protect you."

Rhode snorted, "Well, it did a fine job." She said mockingly.

Dumbledore's elderly frown deepened, "It was meant to protect you from Voldemort's followers, ones who would no doubt come after you for what happened to their master. You permanently leaving…destroyed it."

"Well, I don't need it anymore anyway. I can protect myself." Rhode glared. She wasn't helpless, she refused to be.

The old man's lips pursed, "It was a protection made by your mother's sacrifice."

The daughter of Poseidon stiffened, "What?" Confusion in her voice.

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever."

Rhode tried to find her voice, "B-But why them?!" she demanded, why the Dursleys!

"Because, Petunia shares blood with you. She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you." Dumbledore paused as Rhode processed his words. "If you could still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you could not be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. Your aunt knew this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knew that allowing you a place in her house may well have kept you alive for those past seven years before you fled."

"…A doorstep, you left me on a doorstep with only a letter?" Rhode looked at him as if he was an idiot. "The hell?" she asked him, and before he could retort, she continued, "Seriously, how stupid are you?"

"Young lady, I-"

Rhode cut him off once more, "And what about protecting me from them?" she asked sharply.

Dumbledore paused, "Excuse me?"

Rhode glared at him intensely, "What about protecting me from them." She stood up from the armchair, hands slamming on the desk, her nails digging into it as anger veiled over her body, "Do you think they were kind?" she shouted the old man, "They treated me like I was a freak!"

Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair, "Still, they-"

"So what? They took me into their home? I should be grateful to them?" she hissed, "Giving me a smack here or there. Treating me like dirt. Making me do all their chores like a slave. Stuffing me in a cupboard to live in. Where was my protection from that?" she demanded.

"I can only apologize and beg for your pardon for an old man's mistake." Dumbledore said quietly, "I only wished to protect you from Voldemort's followers."

Rhode gritted her teeth, she couldn't really accept that, her voice raised in volume, "Why didn't you even check up on me? See how I was treated? I didn't even know who my parents were! Do you know what it's like to be told they were hapless drunks who died in a car accident…that I was just a broken condom?" Her anger was clear on her face, "Why was I left in the dark about them?!"

"I feared, child," Dumbledore admitted with heavy emotion, "That if you did know, your heritage and your fame, you would grow swollen in the head, like a pampered princess."

Technically she was a princess, sort of, but that wasn't the point here.

"So it was better that I was abused!?" Rhode shouted and glared furiously, "And for your information, I know my heritage _very_ well." she spat out, _Far more then you'll ever know, old man. _A part of her wanted to deck him, but then she'd be expelled which would suck. She pushed off the desk, glaring at the man, "We're done." She moved to leave.

Dumbledore blinked, regaining his wits at her abrupt dismissal, "My dear girl, I-"

"I," Rhode turned around sharply, "am not your 'dear girl'. I'm just another student in the crowd. You people wanted Rhode Potter, the 'Girl-Who-Lived'? Well guess what? She's dead. You've only got Rhode Evans now!" The daughter of Poseidon snapped, "I only came here to learn magic. That's it. My _personal_ life, is not your damn business and I suggest you stay away from it." She warned, her finger pointing at him.

With that, she turned on the balls of her feet, heading towards the door.

Which would not open.

Rhode turned around, again, glaring at the old man, "Open this door. Now." She said with steel, but Dumbledore had a deep frown on his face, his grandfather-like façade gone.

"Rhode, I need you to answer my questions." He said sternly.

"I don't have to tell you anything." The daughter of Poseidon said with utter defiance.

"If you don't answer my questions Rhode then I can only assume the worse and act accordingly. Hmm... Perhaps the Weasleys could take you in..."

Rhode balked and stomped forward, standing in front of the desk, "Where the hell do you get off telling me where I go, old man?"

"It is for your own good, Rhode."

"Oh, because the first place you picked was sooo good." The daughter of the sea mocked the wizard.

Dumbledore frowned, "An error on my part, yes, but just as that was for your well-being, so is this."

The thought of leaving Annabeth and Luke angered Rhode like no tomorrow. Even worse, this guy wanted to cage her up again. No! Rhode had tasted freedom and she'd be damned if she lost it again! As her temper built, the earth far beneath their feet began to shake.

Fortunately, for all involved before Rhode lost all control, an idea struck her. Acting on it, she gave the Headmaster a tiny smile, "You know, Headmaster, I think you should contact my current guardian, Chiron. He'll explain everything." She said slyly. If she could get Chiron in on this, she knew he'd get this mortal to stop harassing her. Or before she decked him, either or.

Dumbledore gained a stunned look, "Guardian?" Rhode happily nodded, making the old man frown. Dumbledore turned to his floo, "Address?" he asked, wanting to know where she was currently living.

Rhode walked up to him, rudely grabbed the floo powder and tossed it into the fireplace, "Καμπ Ημίαιμος." She said, addressing Camp Half-Blood in ancient Greek, hoping the old man didn't know it. Rhode leaned her head forward, "Chiron? Hey, Chiron!" she called out loudly, since she did call the campfire.

"Hello~!" the face of Gaige sang out, her pigtails looking like fire torches. "Oh, Rhode! Sup?"

"Hey Gaige. Listen, I need you to get Chiron."

Gaige looked around curiously, "Nice place. Hey, can I order a pizza on this thing?"

Rhode palmed her face, "Gaige. Chiron, now."

"Fine fine, geez." The daughter of Hephaestus huffed and turned her head, "CHIRON! YOU HAVE A CALL AT THE CAMPFIRE!" she shouted loudly, making Dumbledore hold his ears at the volume.

The clopping of hooves were heard as a voice said, "Ah, thank you, Gaige."

"Anytime, Chiron. Bye Rhode, don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Gaige gave her cheerful goodbye and left the fireplace. She was replaced with the sophisticated face of Chiron, a thankful sight to see in Rhode's opinion.

"Hey Chiron." Rhode said.

"Rhode, is everything alright?" the trainer asked with a touch of worry.

Before Rhode could answer, Dumbledore intervened, the jerk, "Greetings, Mr. Chiron. I am Rhode's Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore."

"Chiron Brunner," Chiron returned casually, a knowing look dawned on him, "Is there something the matter?"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, "It concerns her guardianship. I am currently her acting magical guardian-"

"Wait what?" Rhode asked.

"And I would ask you to relinquish custody of the girl. You see, it deals with Rhode's safety and-"

"What?!" Rhode roared with outrage, "Like freaking hell you have any right to do that!"

"It's for the best, Rhode, that we adults discuss this." Dumbledore said, patronizingly trying to comfort her.

Rhode's fist tightened and she soon cocked her arm back, preparing to strike the wizard until Chiron's voice spoke up.

"Rhode," the trainer said smoothly, getting her to pause, "The Headmaster is right, we will discuss this." He assured her.

Rhode looked at him but his eyes were stern, making her back down somewhat. Still, Rhode glared heatedly at the Headmaster.

"Chiron, what in Olympus are you doing? If you want to lose your beard, just shave it!"

Chiron's fire face shifted left, "Merely a floo call, Mr. D."

"Well, stop playing with your little friends and hurry back to the game."

"It's in regard to Rhode. Her headmaster is on the line."

"Ugh, I knew that one would be trouble from the start! Gone a day and already causing havoc. Fine, deal with it."

"Indeed I shall." Chiron said and regard Dumbledore, "Perhaps a face to face would be best?" the centaur asked, "Otherwise he won't stop pestering me." He mumbled so softly, no one heard him.

Dumbledore nodded, not opposed to this.

"Very well, just a moment if you will." Chiron and left the floo. The atmosphere between Rhode and Dumbledore was so thick, it could be cut with a knife.

A few moments later, the fireplace flashed and Chiron was there in wheelchair mode and dressed for success in his blazer and tie combo.

Dumbledore observed the handicapped man, who had nothing but a pleasant smile on his face.

Rhode looked at the trainer, and if she blinked, she would have missed the disguised centaur scan the room lightning quick, "Hey, Chiron." The demigod waved, "Welcome to the party." She sarcastically said, getting a nod from the Activities Director.

"Rhode," Chiron turned to the old wizard, "Headmaster Dumbledore." He held out his hand in greeting. The aged magic user returned the greeting, shaking Chiron's hand and withheld a wince.

"Quite the grip, Mr. Burnner."

"Well, one must stay in shape." The centaur quipped with a small smile.

A moment later, the burning face of Mr. D popped up, the fire turning purple. Chiron had a ghosting smile at the image, "Rochel, you best stay out of trouble. That place is the only way I get to see less of you after all." Mr. D sniffed with distaste.

"Yeah, sure thing, Mr. D." Rhode answered in a bored tone.

The fiery faced god nodded and ended the floo call, leaving the faint smell of grapes wafting from the smoke.

Cheerful guy, that Mr. D. Like that drunk Santa from Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street.

Rhode shifted back to Chiron and Dumbledore, who were eying each other, looking for a weakness.

She would forever call this moment the Battle of the Beards. She had ten drachma on Chiron.

"Please," Dumbledore waved his hand before his desk. Chiron wheeled over, Rhode taking the seat near him. She had a smile on her face, knowing Chiron was about to own this guy verbally, he was cool like that.

"You mentioned that this was about Rhode's guardianship, correct?" Chiron asked for verification.

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, "Have you heard of the Wizarding War?"

"In passing." Chiron answered casually.

"Excellent. Despite fall of Voldemort at young Rhode's hands-"

"-Which is really dumb to believe." Rhode interrupted, getting a soft shush from Chiron.

Dumbledore coughed into his hand, "Yes, well. As I was saying, despite Voldemort's fall, his followers are sadly still out and about."

"Are you saying your government failed to capture these dangerous elements?"

Dumbledore gave a grudging nod.

"So your government body lacks competence." Chiron wasn't questioning, more along the lines of stating a fact.

Dumbledore's lips turned thin, "In certain regards, yes. But because of these dangerous elements, Rhode is in grave danger." Rhode could barely hold back her snort, "I can assure she receives adequate protection from these dangerous magicals." He carefully explained.

Chiron laced his fingers over his lap, eyes never leaving Dumbledore's, "To start off, I would like to say that Rhode is perfectly safe where she is." He said since that had been Camp Half-Blood's job for centuries. Add with young Thalia's sacrifice with her tree now strengthening its boarders, it would take something powerful indeed to enter the camp. Something orders of magnitude greater than anything the Wizarding World could bring to bear. "I have kept my wards safe for a long time, Headmaster, the protections we have in place are almost divine one could say." He quipped with a small smile.

"Such as?"

"I'm not at liberty to share that information." Chiron stated bluntly.

"Mr. Brunner, Rhode's safety is paramount. I must insist you provide me more details."

"I must refuse, Headmaster."

Taking a beep breathe to calm his clearly growing frustration, Dumbledore went for a different approach, "As Rhode ran away from her previous…residence due to their... lack of warmth." Rhode almost exploded at hearing the old fool downplay her abuse like that, but managed to restrain herself when Chiron placed a placating hand on her shoulder. "I was planning to place her in a more caring family."

Rhode glared at him, "And I told you like hell you are!" he was basically trying to take her away from her family! Dumbledore ignoring her as if she was just some child just further ignited her aggravation with the man. A hand rested on her shoulder and she took a side glance to see Chiron giving her a reassuring look and spoke.

"Headmaster, I look after many wards, some of which are people that Rhode has made bonds with, a new family as it were. So such an action would be ill-advised."

Dumbledore raised a silver brow, "Certainly that cannot replace a proper family." He boldly declared.

But Chiron refuted him in a second, "And taking an unwilling child into a foster home with an already pre-existing one? That certainly does not sound like a "proper" family either." He pointed out, "In fact, I believe it would cause distress for all involved."

"I have confidence that my prospective placement is capable of overcoming such difficulties."

"And considering your past record on selecting Rhode's guardians I fear I do not share your confidence." Chiron informed with a furrowed brow. Rhode was not forthcoming on the details of her mortal relatives. But with his experience, Chiron knew it left a volatile impression on Rhode from her expressions alone when the topic was brought up.

A grimace flashed across Dumbledore's face, "Should Rhode not be raised by her own kind? They would raise her well and educate her about our customs that have been robbed of her. Certainly she deserves that?" the old man pleaded his case.

Chiron merely raised a bushy brow, "Oh? I was under the impression that Rhode had already made claim to only here to learn magic? Is this not true, Rhode?" he turned to his student, who nodded.

"I did say that. In fact, I told him that just before you came here. I think his hearing is lacking." The daughter of Poseidon mocked, the old man was already in her bad books so she saw no reason to hold back her disdain for him. Chiron gave her a mild warning look, making Rhode huff and cross her arms, looking off to the side where the Phoenix rested.

Dumbledore was inwardly exasperated. Perhaps it was the fact that it was so rare that anyone argued with him these days, as most rightly found his word to be sound and well meaning. It ruffled his pride that someone only half his age who knew not of their world would disagree on such a vital issue as Rhode Potter's safety. It seemed he would have to start going at this with a heavy hand.

"Mr. Brunner," Dumbledore started off in a smooth tone, "For your information, I am a Grand Sorcerer, the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."

Chiron's tone changed to a tone Rhode had never heard before, a steely calm as his intense brown eyes sharpened like a raptor, "Pardon, but are you threatening me?" Dumbledore was stunned for but a moment, but the disguised centaur didn't give him a chance to speak, "I do believe going in circles is pointless as of now. You are obviously wholly unwilling to accept anything except gaining full control over Rhode, and I will not accept you doing so. As such, it would be prudent to let the courts decide the matter of Rhode's custody."

The mortal was really starting to rustle Chiron's jimmies. The trainer of heroes idly thought of just using the mist on the mortal, but with how desperate the mortal was trying to gain custody of Rhode, even if he used the mist, who was to say the old wizard would not try some other tactic? It was best to just let a mortal count handle this and tie Dumbledore's hands officially.

Dumbledore looked elated at this, "Yes, I do believe it would be best." He said with a grandfather-like smile. "I believe we are done for today." He said, rising out of his chair and Chiron slowly wheeled back to the fireplace.

The centaur stopped and gave Rhode an encouraging glance, but her eyes were set firm on Dumbledore, kindled with anger. Chiron inwardly frowned and hoped that the daughter of Poseidon would not take rash actions and try to ride out the school year with minimum trouble.

With the meeting concluded, Rhode was finally allowed to leave and then Chiron floo'd back to Camp Half-Blood. As the two departed the Headmaster was left alone in his office as he started to jot a few notes down on parchment, supremely confident that between his natural charisma and influence he'd say any court to see things his way and that as such the Potter girl would soon be under his control once more.

* * *

><p>After marching down the stairs in a foul mood, Rhode followed McGonagall back to the Gryffindor house quarters. As they took the twisting and turning path, the two witches didn't make conversation, which Rhode was grateful for. At the very end a corridor hung the portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. "Password?" she said.<p>

"Caput Draconis," said the professor, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. Rhode soon found herself in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

McGonagall directed her to the top of a spiral staircase - they were obviously in one of the towers - and finally her dorm room. The room was furnished with five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Her trunk and backpack had already been brought up.

Rhode just walked tiredly over to her bed, falling face first on it without even bothering to change out of her uniform. She was used to sleeping in the same clothes days on end. Laundromats were expensive after all. She pulled a picture out of her pocket, giving it a sad smile. It was one of Thalia, Luke, Annabeth, and herself, grinning like no tomorrow, looking all hopeful and bright. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes.

Rhode stirred in her sleep. Demigod dreams were never fun, they usually meant something down the road was going to happen, or you were viewing something in the present…or maybe even the past.

Basically demigod dreams were really screwy.

Like that guacamole dream. Man, that was a weird one. Yet a Mexican restaurant saved her life two days later.

In her dream, Rhode was wearing Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to her, telling her she must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was her destiny. The daughter of the sea told the turban to screw off and get lost in a donation bin. It got heavier and heavier; she tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully – until she drew her dagger and stabbed it, getting it to wail in agony. Suddenly there was a burst of green light and Rhode woke in a cold sweat, eyes scanning the dorm room. In her hand was her dagger, clenched tightly.

As her breath calmed down, she untied Thalia's jacket from her waist and wore it around her tightly. She placed her dagger back under her pillow. Closing her eyes once more, idly wondering what her dream was about.

* * *

><p><strong>So Rhode and Ron meet, but don't go thinking they'll be super close, they are just more of acquaintances in the same house and a slight guide for things of magic. <strong>

**Rhode is still a Gryffindor, because where else would she go? Like the hat said, she'd cause havoc with the snakes, she's smart, but not Ravenclaw smart, she's loyal, but only to those who are closet to her due to living on the street for so long, so no Hufflepuff. She's not Percy after all, excessive loyalty is his thing. **

**Epic Rap Battle of History! Dumbledore versus, Chirooon! Begin! **

**If someone can do that, I would be ever thankful. And you would just plain rule. **

**Anyway, yes. Dumbledore is going to get owned by Chiron. Please note, I do not enjoy bashing, or am I trying to, but Dumbledore makes it too easy, honest. I am sticking with his nature or as close as I can be. It was clear that Rhode was not going to Hogwarts for the experience, but for only learning magic, since her world is that of a demigod, not a witch. To her, magic might as well be a dagger, a simple, although powerful, tool. Let's just say she might turn some heads and flip some bodies both figuratively and literally. Also note that it looks like bashing because Dumbles is the 'bad guy' here, but he isn't. Because his idea of what is in Rhode's best interests is contrary to her interests as shaped by her broader understanding of the world stemming from her demigod heritage. Basically he comes across badly because he's Rhode's enemy, not because he's inherently a bad guy. Hope you all can understand that.  
><strong>

**Also, because the sea cannot be contained!**

**Sieg: MUST. RESIST. MUST. RESIST. MUST. NOT. MAKE. RHODE. STAB. DUMB-AS-A-DOOR!**

**Seig, dude, easy! Where did you get that crowbar?! Down! DOWN!**

**Sieg: DEATH!**

**No! Wait, you will have your time, but you must hold your call for blood. All in good time. **

**Sieg: *Throws crowbar off screen* ...fine. But it'd better happen.**

**Phew, that was close. Anyway, as you can see, Seig, and many others, have issues with Dumbles...yeah. That's all I got to say on that. **

**Well, wait for next week as we get into Rhode's classes and her first Halloween at Hogwarts. It will be awesome and smelly. Smellysome? **

**Sieg: Awelly? **

**We'll work on it.**

**Anyway, I love the weapon names so far guys. I got my eye on a few of them, but we'll just have to wait and see. Thanks Animal Lover13 for so many, you guys can give more than one, feel free to do so. **

**Now, please review, no flames, and peace off!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey**

**Year One: I Become Supreme Lady of the Bathroom **

**Beta: Siegfried01**

* * *

><p>"There, look."<p>

"Where?"

"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."

"Wearing the hat?"

"Did you see her face?"

"Did you see her scar?"

"The hat's in the way!"

Whispers followed Rhode from the moment she left her dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at her, or doubled back to pass her in the corridors again, staring. Rhode would just glare at them, couldn't they tell she was trying to figure her way around this maze of a castle? So annoying.

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Rhode was sure the coats of armor could walk. All these were so not cool. In particular the moving suits of armor reminded her of the automatons that she had fought in the past and that put her on edge. The massive morningstars with heads larger than her torso and claymores longer than she was tall that were held with utter nonchalance didn't really help with that.

The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" Rhode wanted to stab him…repeatedly. She'd have to test that out some time.

Even worse than Peeves was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Rhode and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning which made his already annoying presence all the more unbearable. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing. That was lucky for Filch because Rhode was about to kick his butt for threatening her.

Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. Rhode had stepped on its tail once or twice for annoying her, something she was only able to get away with doing because she was able to dodge the creepy caretaker after the deed.

And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Rhode quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. Gods, Latin was a pain in the butt. No wonder it was a dead language. Still, that E.G.L. dictionary Chiron gave her was helping. She spent mornings using highlighters and making doggie ears in it just to keep up with everyone else. She remembered what she liked most while living on the streets, no school.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Rhode found it rather easy since the stars were just the ending of many a Greek history story. She was actually one of the best in class, much to Hermione Granger's ire. Plus, as per Lee's suggestion, she had borrowed one of the camp's telescopes, which were far better and clearer and compact than the old clunky wizard ones.

Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Rhode knew a little about plants, but she couldn't really hold a candle in comparison to one of her green thumbed cousins from Cabin Four.

Easily the most boring class was History of Magic (or nap time), which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. Rhode idly wondered if her uncle was trying to kill her via boredom. If so, it was strangely effective.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Rhode's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight, the clatter of thick hardcover books making loud thumping noises as they came crashing down. None of the class could conceal a wince when he reappeared, a suspicious bruise shining on his forehead.

Professor McGonagall was again, different. Rhode had been right to think she was one of those kind of teachers. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of annoyingly complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. Teacher's pet much?

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a joke for the demigod. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but not many believed him. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. But for some reason, she felt on edge in the class, like a monster was going to attack her or something.

In general, Rhode found herself in the middle of the pack of her peers academically speaking, still trying to learn a few things along with the struggles of her dyslexia. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like her, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. Being a half-blood, the demigod kind, really didn't prep you for doing magic. Monster fighting? Sure. The next Merlin? Not so much. There was a lot to learn, even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.

The one thing that irked Rhode the most about Hogwarts so far? Well, everyone would call her Potter. She'd said her name was Evans so many times it was ridiculous! Were people deaf or dumb? She honestly wasn't sure. Either way if they didn't wise up soon she'd open up a few ears, or knock some sense into them.

Rhode was supposed to polish some trophies or something for detention for giving Malfoy his dues back on the train. But she skipped it, finding it stupid just because she got into a fight _before _school even started. Best part, they thought she served it! They didn't even bother checking up on her. Man, what a joke. Exploiting the system, how fun.

Friday was an important day for Rhode and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once. Seriously, this place should come with a directory.

"What have we got today?" Rhode asked Ron as she took a rough bite out of her bacon. In her other hand was a pen as she wrote on some loose-leaf from her binder. She refused to use something as archaic as quells. Hello, twenty-first century people! She was currently writing to Annabeth about her first few days, making a little doodle here and there to give a visual. She'd write to Luke later, Annabeth would throw a hissy fit if she didn't get the first letter.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them - we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favored us." said Rhode. McGonagall had just given them a large pile of homework the day before. Rhode just hoped it wasn't a recurring theme because homework sucked.

Worst of all, Rhode hadn't gotten even a chance to train at all here. She was feeling restless and needed a sparring dummy. Hopefully Lee would oblige. She'd been so busy Rhode hadn't gotten a chance at all to talk to her fellow demigods either. Well, she could with Lee since they were in the same house, but he was too busy chatting up older girls and hanging out with the Weasley Twins.

Just then, the mail arrived. Rhode had gotten used to this by now, but it had given her a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. She swore some of them were giving her looks, blinking those big eyes with menacing hoots. Rhode just hoped it didn't end up like that freaky movie, The Birds.

Hedwig hadn't brought Rhode anything so far. She sometimes flew in though to nibble her ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning was no different, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and pecked at her bacon.

"Fine, steal my bacon," Rhode mumbled. She stuffed the letter into a paper envelope and handed it to the owl, "Give that to Bethy, okay, Hedwig?" the owl bobbed her head and after quickly finishing off her stolen meal took off with the letter.

"Meffy?" Ron asked with his mouth full.

"My, well, you could say she's my little sister." Rhode told him with a grimace, "And Ron, swallow. You're grossing me out." Seriously, she had seen hobos with more manners.

Ron blinked and swallowed, "I thought you were, you know, a single child." He said knowing about the Potter family like everyone else. Rhode hadn't told him about her life in the states. That was no one's business but her own.

"She's like a little sister to me. We live in the same place." Rhode vaguely answered.

"I've a little sister. She's kind of annoying." Ron commented and looked at her, "Wanna trade? Maybe yours is more bearable. Plus, she read all those stories about you, she thinks you're amazing."

Rhode scowled about the made up stories about her, well, she did slay monsters but her being some warrior princess was just…dumb and eerily accurate. Minus the princess part of course. "I wouldn't trade her for the world. Sorry, you're stuck with yours."

"Aw man," Ron slumped his shoulders.

Potions as it turned out was the worst class that she's had so far. In fact, _ever_ to be more precise.

At the start-of-term banquet, Rhode had gotten the idea that this Snape guy disliked her. By the end of the first Potions lesson, she knew she'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Rhode - he hated her.

And it was honestly mutual.

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder there than up in the main castle, and would have been creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Rhode's name.

"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Rhode Potter. Our new - celebrity."

"It's Evans." Rhode said on reflex.

Snape's cold and empty black eyes looked into her own, "We speak when spoken to here, Potter." He said the name with acid, "A point from Gryffindor."

Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Rhode and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

For a brief moment she considered ignoring the guy entirely since he wasn't using her proper name, but thought better of it. But his question itself? Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? She thought on it, but was stumped. Hermione's hand had shot into the air.

"I don't know," Rhode frowned, "And like I said, it's Ev-"

Snape's lips curled into a sneer and cut her off, "Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."

He ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Rhode didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. It sounded like a wine cooler. She ignored Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter like hyenas.

"I don't know." Rhode's frown deepened, wondering what the heck this guy's deal was.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Rhode's brow knitted into a glare. No, she hadn't. She wanted to spend as much time with Luke and Annabeth as she could before leaving.

Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.

Wolfsbane? All she knew about that was that Medea tried to poison her half-brother, Theseus, with it, but his step-father, Aegeus, saved him. "I don't know. This is why I'm in school, for _you_ to teach me this stuff right? If you want a know-it-all, why not try Granger, her arm's looking tired." Rhode answered with attitude. This guy was really ticking her off now. Granger's overeagerness to show off her knowledge when she was being publicly embarrassed for lack of such was not helping matters either.

A few people laughed; Rhode caught Seamus' eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Or pen and paper for Rhode. Over the noise, Snape said, "And another point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." Her pen creaked, the plastic groaning in protest as she clenched it and glared at the man.

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Rhode and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. "You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Before Ron could stop her, Rhode spoke her mind. She tended to do that a lot. "Maybe because I was paying attention to my own work!?" She snapped, "If you weren't busy stroking Malfoy's ego and neglecting everyone else, you might've spotted Neville's mistake. Ever think of that?"

The entire class gasped.

Snape's focus turned solely on her, eyes boring into her green eyes that challenged him with her own glare, "What did you say, Potter?" he hissed in a whisper.

"It's. Evans." She hissed right back, refusing to back down from this guy. "Or does that carrot on your face block your hearing somehow?"

Silence fell in the classroom as Snape's loathsome look doubled, no, tripled in intensity. "_Ten_ points from Gryffindor, _Potter_." The man sneered, "Now get back to work!" he barked at the class.

"Screw that, I'm out of here." Rhode said, packing her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and marched out, leaping over the potion on the ground. She ignored Snape's shouts at her about losing another fifteen points. Her housemates were gaping at her actions.

"What a dick." she surmised the teacher in three simple words as she finally got some distance from the classroom.

As Rhode carried her backpack down a hallway, she heard the collapsing of books. Peering around a corner, she saw Su picking up her books, but she wasn't alone. Two older girls were with her, or rather bothering her from what Rhode could hear.

Rhode advanced towards them, she could see Su's shoulders were tensed, her lips in a small frown, her chestnut colored eyes were narrowed. But Su made no move against the girls bullying her, not even speaking to them. She opted to walk away, ignoring the older girls, but one pushed her back to where the daughter of Demeter had been.

"Come on, Li, speak up. Or are you mute?" one of the older Ravenclaws gave a shrill laugh that reminded Rhode of one of the cleaning Harpies at camp.

"Yeah," the other parroted with a sneer.

Su just kept her lips sealed, trying to get past them once more. Only she was roughly pushed down this time, her books scattering all around her.

"There a problem?" Rhode cut in harshly, getting the girls to look at her. Su blinked in surprise at seeing her.

The harpy girl muttered a curse, "What do you want, Potter?"

"It's Evans," Rhode glared sternly, still pissed about the Snape debacle, "My question is what you're doing with Su here?"

"What do you care about some Mute, Evans?"

Su had gotten to her knees, ignoring the taunt with a calming breath.

Rhode's grip on her shoulder strap tightened, "Because I hate bullies." She glared intensely.

The mean girl raised a brow, "And I should care what you think why?" she mocked, reaching for her wand, but Rhode was far quicker. Before the other girl had so much as gripped her wand, Rhode had dropped her bag, caught the girl's threatening wrist before proceeding to twist it so the bully dropped the loosely held wand, and as a final coup de grâce slammed the girl face first into the wall. She couldn't withhold the satisfied smirk as she heard bone crunch.

The bully's friend, a pasty skinned brunette, reached for her wand, firing off a spell Rhode had never heard of, but with her demigod reflexes, the daughter of Poseidon had already ducked out of the way of the spell, and in the same motion kicked the girl's hand. The brunette yelped, dropping her wand. Capitalizing on her opponent's distraction, Rhode shoulder rammed her, making her fall to the ground.

By this point, the first girl had recovered her wand and had managed to get off a spell, but Rhode side stepped the magical beam that spat from the wand and rushing forward grabbed the girl by her long straw colored hair and flipped the Ravenclaw over her body, tearing out a good clump of hair in the process. This left the mean girl wailing in pain interspersed with shouts for her friend to help her only to discover that she had already scampered away. Finding herself alone and outclassed she soon raced down the hallway too, cussing Rhode nastily.

"That's right! You better run!" Rhode shouted, "Mess with her again and I'll shave you bald!"

Well, that was certainly cathartic, beating up bullies always was. Rhode felt better now.

She turned around to see Su collecting her books for a second time, Rhode bent down to help her, "You okay, Su?" she asked in concern. Su was a fellow demigod, and if it was one rule Rhode followed, it was that demigods stick together.

"I'm fine," Su said in her soft voice. It was just above a whisper, but it was very pretty. Her lips curled upward in a smile, "Thank you, Rhode."

"No problem," Rhode said and stood up, handing the books back to Su, "So what was that all about?"

Su frowned, her eyes finding the floor oddly interesting, "It was just some repugnant hazing from what I could gather."

Rhode's mouth formed into a scowl, "What? That's stupid!"

Su just nodded, a tiny frown on her face.

"Why didn't you fight back?" the daughter of Poseidon asked. Su could have taken those girls.

Su flustered, "I was just going to ignore them. They'd leave me alone eventually."

Rhode shook her head, "Su, that's a good way to end up as a doormat…trust me." She said in a bitter tone, remembering her 'childhood'. "Backing down makes them think it's okay. You have to fight back."

The daughter of Demeter frowned, "I believe in only fighting when the situation demands it. Sticks and stones, Rhode."

"I'd rather use the sticks and stones." Rhode grunted. "More efficient."

Su gave her fellow half-blood a worried look, "You do know you're going to get in trouble, yes?"

Rhode gave a look that just said: Your point is?

"I see," Su muttered under her breath.

"So, where were you heading?" Rhode asked, picking up her bag by the straps.

"The library." Su gave a cute little smile, excitement gleaming in her chestnut eyes, "I was going to get a head start on that homework Chiron gave us."

Rhode faltered, "You…you actually have time for that?"

Su cocked her head, "You don't?" she ask innocently.

Rhode snorted and pulled out her current Bible, the E.G.L. dictionary, "Still trying learning from this. Latin is such a pain. I'm barely scraping by."

"I could help you." Su said quickly, "I owe you one-"

Rhodes stopped her right there, "I didn't help you because I wanted something in return, Su. I did it because it was the right thing to do." she said as if it was obvious and to her it was. She hated bullies. They reminded her of her cousin Dudley. "I don't need you to help me because you want to pay me back. Not that I wouldn't mind the help, you know? Gods know I need it. But only if _you _want to help me." She shrugged, "If you don't want to, don't. Simple as that."

Su just looked stunned for a moment, her small voice mustering out, "I want to." She said, standing a little straighter.

Rhode smirked, "Okay then. Now, fair warning. I might start out a bit stupid, so forgive me." She laughed with a sheepish look, "Haven't been to school in ages." She shouldered her bag as they started walking to the library.

"It's easy once you get a handle on it. It also helps if you make mental shortcuts." Su informed.

"You're the Ravenclaw here, I'll take your word for it."

They ended up working in the library until dinner. Even with Su's help, Rhode still struggled, but was getting the hang of it bit by bit. Or at least that's what Su said. Rhode honestly couldn't tell, not with only a day's worth of work to go on. At dinner, Rhode sat at the Ravenclaw table, getting plenty of odd looks. But Rhode didn't care, she was having fun chatting with her newest friend, Su.

Later, McGonagall cornered Rhode in the Gryffindor tower, over her standing up to Snape. An event that was the talk of the school. Rhode flat-out told the professor she wasn't going to take Snape's harassing attitude, plain and simple. In return, she got a lengthy lecture, which she tuned out, about respecting her teachers and another detention.

Rhode still didn't go.

* * *

><p>A few days into the term, Rhode got a letter back from Annabeth. It was all written in rushed little excited script as she talked about how cool Rhode's classes sounded. Rhode had yet to write about potions. After gushing over Rhode's classes Annabeth went into how she was doing at camp, talking about Luke, how she was learning to use her dagger and saying she'd beat Rhode once she got back. She just rambled on about the little things and asking more questions about the school.<p>

There was even a little drawing from the blonde, stick figures, aww. It looked like Annabeth…fighting a killer badger? Or was that a wombat? Maybe it was a guinea pig, it was really hard to tell.

The last part of the letter was that Annabeth wanted more letters, eager to hear about what Rhode was doing and studying. The daughter of the sea was happy to oblige. She wrote about how things were going here currently. She included a smaller letter addressed to Luke, to see how he was doing.

She also got a letter from Chiron. The preliminary proceedings for her custody case were going well. Apparently they had to go to Ministry of Magic to give her testimony at the formal hearing set during the winter holiday. That was fine with Rhode, she just wanted to get this stupid thing over with. Her custody battle actually made the newspapers, which was really annoying when people would come up to ask her something about it.

The next week zoomed by quickly, and before she knew it Thursday had arrived. The biggest thing that was going on was the broom flying lessons. Everyone was either happy or nervous as heck. In the run-up to the big day, kids from wizarding families were boasting, telling tales of dodging helicopters or hand gliders. The exception being Neville who was freaking out. A feeling shared by the muggle-raised kids who were all pretty nervous about the whole thing, the worse being Hermione Granger who was reading on all she could learn.

Rhode? Well, she was just going to skip it. She valued her life after all. See, Zeus didn't like his brothers' kids in the sky. Kind of like going over to someone's house for dinner without a pie. But instead of getting an annoyed look, you got a bolt to the face…even if you offered a pie.

Neville had gotten a gift from his Gran, a Remembrall. A little clear glass tennis ball that started to change red inside if you forgot something. It wouldn't tell you what though. It was in Rhode's frank opinion a stupid little thing and another sign of the Wizards' madness. But Neville seemed happy about it. So when Malfoy slinked by, trying to take it from Neville, Rhode decided to stand up for her housemate and caught the blonde brat's wrist in a vice grip as he reached for the ball, glaring at him. His bodyguards loomed behind him, trying to look tough and scary, but Rhode ignored them. Luckily (for them) McGonagall was there in a flash, stopping anything from happening.

Teachers were annoying like that.

Whilst she skipped the life threatening (to her) flying lesson, Rhode managed to run into Lee, who told her that they'd be training in the coming week. Rhode of course asked why they hadn't so far, but Lee said he wanted them to adjust first. A likely story in Rhode's opinion, More likely the son of Hermes had gotten too distracted with catching up with his friends and life at Hogwarts and forgotten all about training until now. But whatever the case, she was eager to get some training in so she rolled with the boy's silly excuse.

After catching up with Ron after his flying lesson, he told her that Malfoy took Neville's Remembrall after the poor boy crashed. Seemed that moron hasn't learned yet. She's need to give yet another remedial lesson it seemed. Putting thought to action, Rhode stormed around the castle until she found the kiddie Ken doll's bodyguards. They were standing outside a boy's bathroom.

The two stooges tried their best to look menacing, scowling and cracking their knuckles, but one frightening glare and a low toned, "Move." Seemed to have them remember how bad she kicked their butts. They parted like the red sea and Rhode marched into the bathroom.

Malfoy was in a stall. So, she kicked it open.

He screamed like a little girl as he covered himself. Rhode caught him with his pants down, literally.

She held him at wand point and told him to hand over the Remembrall. She didn't know any threatening spells yet, so it was just a bluff. Not that the idiot knew that.

He looked like he wanted to refuse, but Rhode used her mastery of toilets to make his start to shake from water pressure. Visibly terrified by the display he assumed was magic, he handed it over in a second. Rhode smiled and told him to keep being stupid, walking out of the bathroom whistling happily as she returned the Remembrall to Neville at dinner, who thanked her greatly.

Malfoy, trying to save face, attempted to challenge her to a duel, but Rhode brushed him off. The kid was nowhere near her level, that much she could tell from a mere glance. She had plenty of experience with duels after all, having fought a good number of them with Thalia and Luke. She'd lost her fair share, she wasn't afraid to admit that. Plus, Thalia so cheated with her static zaps. Like, all the time!

Malfoy tried calling Rhode a coward, but she just pointed out how he screamed like a banshee and that made him storm away with his goons, face red.

Loser.

* * *

><p>Lee smiled at the cousins, "Well, girls, time to get some training in."<p>

"About damn time," Rhode rolled her eyes.

Su and Rhode were following Lee up to the seventh floor. Rhode was in a pair of grey sweatpants, a black tanktop, her sneakers, and Thalia's jacket. The promised training area was finally going to be shown to them. After today they could go there whenever they fancied or at least had free time.

They ended up near a tapestry of a guy trying to teach trolls ballet as Lee was looking at a blank wall.

"You know you could take a picture, right?" Rhode told him.

"Ye of little faith," the son of Hermes held his chest in mock woe is me way, "Look at the wall, Aquagirl."

"Don't call me that you-what?" Rhode had blinked and suddenly there was a door in front of them, "…A secret room?"

"The most secretest," Lee chirped with a smirk as he opened it, showing an empty room, "Welcome, ladies, to the Room of Requirement!" he fanned out his arms wide all dramatic like.

Su gave a small clap of awe while Rhode whistled, "Okay, this is cool."

"Hey, I always deliver," Lee smirked, "So, what do you want to train with?"

Rhode looked Lee up and down, "A punching bag."

A moment later, a punching bag appeared, making Rhode look surprised.

"Your punching bag, Milady." Lee bowed dramatically.

"Oh," Rhode made a small noise of disappointment. She wanted to use Lee as her punching bag.

Lee seemed to have caught that as he quickly turned to Su, "And you, Li?"

"A practice dummy, please." She asked politely. Another moment later, a straw dummy appeared, "Thank you."

"No problem," Lee smiled at her and turned to Rhode, "At least _someone_ has manners."

"I have manners," Rhode pointed out, "I just choose not to use them." She smirked at him.

"…Luke's right, I am going to have my hands full with you."

"He said what now?"

"Nothing!" Lee laughed nervously and changed topics, quickly, "So, here's the deal here. You have to think about what you want, like so." he said, pointing to the target circle that appeared, "Best place to train in all of Scotland."

Rhode took off Thalia's jacket and hung it on a coat hanger that appeared. "I guess. Hey, Su, want to do hand to hand training?" she asked.

"What?" Su blinked, "Um, no, I'm not that good at it." She wearily admitted. Plus, she didn't want to fight Rhode in hand to hand combat. She saw what the daughter of Poseidon did to those bullies.

"Come on, Li, bust out the Kung-Fu!" Lee grinned impishly, doing some mock Kung-Fu moves with sound effects.

Su frowned, her little fists on her hips, "Just because I am Chinese, does not mean I know Kung-Fu. That's stereotyping." She huffed.

"What?" Lee whined, "Seriously?"

"I mean, I learned a little fighting at camp." Su admitted, "But it's very limited."

"So, come on, let's go." Rhode said, holding up her fists like a boxer. Lee stepped back, playing the role of referee. Su looked at their excited smiles and sighed.

"Fine."

Not even a minute later, Su was face first on the ground, "Owie."

"Y-You okay, Su?" Rhode asked with concern, kneeling down next to the downed girl. Did she go too hard?

Su looked up, rubbing her little nose, "I don't like close quarter combat." She pouted. Fighting like that hurt.

"Don't you use a sword?" Lee asked, coming over with his hands in his pockets.

Su sat up and crossed her legs. She pulled out an oriental fan made of wood and opened it. It had a green paper background with a long branch that had little pink flowers blooming. A second later, it morphed into a two foot xiphos, "I'm decent with it, but I'm much better with controlling my powers." The daughter of Demeter admitted with a tiny smile.

"I like doing it both ways." Rhode told Su. Lee snickered juvenilely, getting a confused look from the daughters of Poseidon and Demeter.

"Nothing, nothing," Lee waved off with one more laugh, "So, you two check out the third floor corridor?" he asked them eagerly.

"No/Nope." The cousins answered, getting a stunned look from Lee.

"What?!" he gaped at them, "Why not?"

"Didn't headmaster Dumbledore say something about certain death?" Su asked him.

"Please, that was a clear invitation! Where's your sense of demigod adventure?"

Rhode snorted, "I got my adventure before coming to camp. I could use a little relaxation." Even though she really wouldn't call school relaxing.

"Well I went," Lee crossed his arms with a smug smile, "You'd never guess what's in there."

Su and Rhode exchanged looks, "What?" the daughter of Poseidon asked.

Lee's smile broadened, "A Cerberus!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

The girls paused, "What?" Rhode's voice cracked like a whip, eyes narrowed, "You're sure?"

"Yep." Lee nodded.

"…This place is nuts!" the daughter of Poseidon shouted, arms in the air, "Who's the soft headed idiot who brought a Cerberus to a school full of kids?" She demanded.

"Hagrid." Lee casually answered. To the looks he got, the boy elaborated, "See, Hagrid, the Grounds Keeper, is a big animal softy. If a Cerberus got into the school, oh, he'd know for sure." That twinkle of mischief that children of Hermes were known for was burning like a star, "So I went down to his hut and leaned on him a bit."

"I doubt you could." Rhode said due to the sheer size of the man.

"I meant figuratively. You know the saying 'Loose lips sink ships'?" Lee asked, getting nods as he laughed, "Well, let's just say that good old Hagrid is a bloody Dreadnaught!" he slapped his knee, "One of my best sources of information here next to the portraits." He stated and leaned forward with a grin, "He dropped the dog's name, it's Fluffy by the way. Real messed up name for a hellhound. But guess what else he slipped?"

Su and Rhode exchanged looks and turned back to Lee, "What?" the daughter of Poseidon asked.

"It's guarding something by Nicolas Flamel! Saw the thing hovering over a trapdoor." Lee exclaimed, "Him and Dumbledore are thick as thieves I hear. So whatever's down there, it's got to be cool…and worth something good." He commented with a rub of his chin, probably thinking of what the object was and how much money he could make off it.

Rhode shook her head, "I don't want to know." She groaned as she waved Lee off. Making a mental note to stay far away from the third corridor.

Lee raised a brow, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Rhode shrugged, "Whatever, it's probably something stupid. Anyway, I'm going to work out while I can." She said, walking over to the punching bag where a pair of cestus, leather gloves, appeared. "This room rocks." She grinned and slipping them on started training.

Seeing that the conversation had come to an end, Su moved over to her practice dummy to practice a few sword strokes. Pouting at the lack of enthusiasm towards his scheme, Lee stalked off to his makeshift range and began throwing his knives at the target circle, doing trick shots for a challenge.

During their break, Su commented about Gringotts getting robbed a little while ago and maybe it had something to do with what was hidden in the third floor corridor. After all, she reasoned, after Gringotts, Hogwarts was reputed to be the safest place in Britain so if the former was robbed it only made sense to hide whatever was the target in the school. Lee waved it off saying it was a ridiculously farfetched idea.

Besides, he noted nothing was taken. He did however compliment whoever had the guts to do it, but still insulted them for not taking anything after having pulled off Wizarding Britain's break-in of the century. This led to Rhode asking about her own banking stuff and Lee replying the market was looking good from what he read in the paper that morning.

Rhode honestly had no idea what on earth that meant but before she could say so, he went on to say that he had got an owl from his mum saying she had found someone good to work on Rhode's finances. That was good news in Poseidon's daughter's opinion since it was one less nuisance to worry about.

* * *

><p>It had been already two months since Rhode had come to Hogwarts. Her lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics. She still had her struggles, but with Su's help, it was getting easier as time went by. She had sent almost constant letters to Annabeth and Luke, she missed them and hoped the Christmas holiday would hurry up.<p>

On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Rhode's partner was Seamus Finnigan. Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger, something the neither of them seemed too pleased about. Rhode felt sorry for him.

Rhode and Hermione had a…tense relationship. If Hermione was the goody-two shoes point scorer of Gryffindor. Then Rhode was the bad girl who broke the rules and lost those points. She had already lost a lot of points for their house (mostly because of Snape). As a result, not many were thrilled with her, none more so than the Granger girl.

Like hell Rhode would bow to some peer pressure system! If they wanted some dinky cup, good for them. The child of the sea honestly didn't care.

Beyond the issues about the points and the worthless cup, the bushy haired girl just grinded on her nerves in just about every possible way. A feeling she suspected was mutual. Rhode often kept her area of the dorm messy, which would lead to Hermione nagging her, annoying Rhode. Rhode would often give her a look that said she didn't care and to shut up, which in turn peeved Hermione.

One time when Rhode was oversleeping due to a rather tiring training session, Hermione had tried to stir Rhode awake. Now, here's an important fun fact: Never trying to stir awake someone who's lived on the streets. Rhode had literally grabbed her hand before it could touch her on reflex, rolled off her bed and pinned Hermione down, painfully. Rhode got off of the girl and told her to never try and wake her up again. Hermione tattled on Rhode, getting her another detention.

Once more, Rhode did not attend it.

Back in the present, Flitwick was giving his instructions on how to carry out the levitation charm they were to be attempting in class that day. "Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

Rhode went first in her pair and got the feather to float four inch off the desk for a moment, making her smile. Seamus tried but got so impatient when it did nothing, he prodded it with his wand, setting it on fire - Rhode snuffed it out with her hand. See, since her dad was Poseidon, she had some kind of heat resistance due to his oceanic nature. So a little fire like that didn't really hurt her. It made for a cool party trick too.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much luck either.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Rhode heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Rhode as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Rhode as they hurried past her. It was Granger. Rhode caught a glimpse of her face - and was surprised to see that she was in tears. Rhode thought the girl had thicker skin than that.

"I think she heard you." Rhode idly commented.

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

Granger didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Rhode and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Granger was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, and the Halloween decorations put the bookworm out of their minds.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

Rhode was just helping herself to a baked sweet potato (which she loved) when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face, "Troll – in the dungeons! Troll in the dungeons!" Everyone stared at him as he stood in the middle lane of the tables, "Thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint, face first.

Gods, that was just pathetic! And he called himself a DADA professor?

There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

In the background she heard Snape rush over to Dumbledore and whisper into his ear quietly but furiously, even as he gave what were clearly a series of hand signals that caused the Prefects in his house to stop what they were doing. Obviously, he at least had enough brains to realize that sending his snakes to their dorm in the dungeons, where the troll was supposed to be, was monumentally stupid. Rhode, for all her hatred for him, had to give the potion master credit for not being a complete idiot like his colleagues appeared to be.

She was curious to hear where the snakes would end up for the night, but Percy was in his element and quickly rushed her and her housemates out of the Great Hall before she could catch even the slightest hint. Bah! Overeager, pretentious BOY! She didn't miss how in the midst of showing off his 'leadership skills' he was sending glances over to some girl his year at the Ravenclaw table. He was obviously grandstanding to get her attention. Honestly, she didn't know why guys seemed so intent on impressing girls but they can do some frankly silly things to do so.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

"How could a troll get in?" Rhode asked as they climbed the stairs. She thought this place was supposed to be safe.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke?"

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Rhode suddenly paused and cursed under breath.

"What?" Ron asked her.

_We forgot about Granger. _Rhode thought and looked at Ron, eyes narrowed, "I'll be right back." She said but Ron stopped her.

"Y-You want me to come too?" he asked with a nervous look, trying (and failing) to sound brave. It only took one glance and Rhode could tell he was hoping she'd say no.

The daughter of Poseidon shook her head, "No. Just cover for me if anyone asks, okay?"

"Got it." The ginger nodded, his relief at missing out on putting himself into life threatening danger obvious. _Coward_, Rhode idly noted. _Though he's not a demigod, so maybe I'm being unfair. Whatever! Now's not the time to worry about stuff like that!_

Ducking down, Rhode joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom that she had heard Granger was sulking in. She had just turned the corner when she heard quick footsteps behind her.

Moving fast, she got behind a large stone griffin. Peering around it, the half-blood saw Snape. He looked deeply frazzled, which she could understand what with having to find someplace safe for his house and whatever else had him running around the school at a time like this (hunting the troll maybe?), as he crossed the corridor and disappeared from view. Rhode frowned, wondering why Snape wasn't down in the dungeons.

He looked like he was heading for the third floor corridor. Eyes narrowed, Rhode came up with three guesses. One, Snape was possibly going after whatever was on the third floor while the other teachers were looking for the troll. Or two, he was possibly going to protect it as having a troll run about would make for a good distraction for the teachers thus leaving it vulnerable. Or lastly, he was just coincidentally going that way whilst hunting for the troll. Yeah… If it was the last option, she'd tank a lightning bolt. Shaking her head, Rhode, quietly as possible, crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. She didn't have time to worry about that now.

Suddenly as she was about halfway to her destination, Rhode paused and sniffed. A foul stench reached her nostrils, a mixture of hobo and that sewer in Chicago she and Thalia had to duck into that one time. At least she could will water off. Thalia? Not so lucky.

She heard a low grunt and thudding of huge feet. It came from the end of a passage to the left and it was moving towards her. Rhode stuck to the shadows so she could have a better look at what she was facing. In the moonlight, she could see it was twelve foot, with skin as grey a gravel, a large lumpy body with a cue ball head. It had thick short legs with flat large toe nailed feet. It was holding a huge wooden club, which it dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

Rhode thought of her chances and knew she could take that thing down. It looked dumber than a cyclops. And _that_ was saying something.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

Rhode noticed the key in the door, but she doubted that the door could hold the troll. Next, she realized that it wasn't just any room…it was the girls bathroom she had been heading towards!

She cursed and right on cue, a high-pitched scream filled the air. The demigod hurried in and saw Hermione Granger shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went, spraying water everywhere.

"This is going to suck," Rhode said under her breath and drew her dagger. Cocking her arm back, she threw it.

Right into its butt.

The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione and howled in pain, bouncing around or as best as a twelve foot monster could at least. It turned around, seeing Rhode glaring right at him. Snarling, it lifted its club, lumbering towards her.

Bending her knees, the daughter of Poseidon's eyes narrowed and she leapt forward like a spring as she dodged the swing of lumber. Coming out of a roll, the half-blood ran at Hermione, "Granger." She said, shaking her, "Come on, you have to run." Rhode said urgently as the troll hobbled around to face them.

But the mortal couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror, screaming. Something that was really annoying Rhode. So, she did the only thing she could do.

She slapped the hysterical mortal across the face.

"Gods, shut up!" Rhode yelled, getting the mortal to blink stupidly for a moment, holding her cheek as some tears flowed down her cheeks. Ugh, it wasn't even that hard of a hit! "Okay, listen to me, you need to run."

Hermione whimpered, "I can't." she said, clearly scared out of her mind.

A growl leapt from Rhode's throat and she grabbed the useless girl by her cloak, tearing her off the wall. The daughter of Poseidon threw her across the ground that had become a good approximation of a Slip N' Slide from all the water.

"Ah!" the bookworm screamed as she slid across the floor from Rhode's throw. _Idiot! Can you do anything besides scream? _Rhode thought uncharitably. _Like something useful?_ Drawn by the witch's scream the troll tried to grab the girl with its clumsy hand, but Hermione slid right past it, sprawling at the door. The troll advanced towards the girl's prone form, but blinked when a broken faucet banged its head, making it realize there was another tiny human it could crush.

"Come on, big boy." The demigod challenged the monster. Angered that she didn't gain the troll's attention right away, Rhode willed the streaming water from a destroyed sink to redirect at the beast. The water morphed into half a dozen ice shards and pierced into the creature's right shoulder, getting it to wail in pain. "Run!" she ordered the stunned mortal.

"But-!" Hermione started, but Rhode's glare stopped her words.

"Do as I say." She ordered and shed her cloak, feeling a strange fit of Deja vu. "Hey! Over here you stupid moron, come on ugly!" she shouted, getting its raging attention. She untied Thalia's jacket and put it on, "Think you can swing that twig? Might be a bit big for you." Rhode looked at the stunned Granger girl, "GO!" she snapped at Granger's gawking. A toilet exploded from her anger, making it rain water.

Finally jolted out of her stupor, the teachers' pet scampered out the room, rushing to find a teacher.

Rhode grunted, "Finally. Can't fight right with mortals around." She said and glared at the monster as he stalked towards her, slowly and clumsily, "Well, prepared to be flushed, troll." The daughter of Poseidon grinned, "For I am the Lady of the Toilets!" She shouted as she took steps to the side, letting herself get drenched with the toilet water that was still raining all over the bathroom.

As Rhode's senses and strength surged, she bent her knees as the troll roared and swung its club downward. She jumped back on a toilet and commanded the toilet she just broke to spray the troll. She tried to make ice again, to nail it in the face, but only delivered some toilet flavored mouthwash.

She _really_ needed to practice that more.

As the troll gargled the toilet water, an improvement in Rhode's opinion, she ran and slide between its legs, grabbing her dagger out of its butt as she did so. Stopping with her knee, she swung her dagger, slashing the back of its leg. The troll wailed and she dodged around its flailing and slashed the back of its right knee next, making it wobble in pain. Then she rolled under a swing and stabbed its left heel.

Rhode jumped out of another poor swing of the club and climbed up a stall, jumping off it to land on top of the troll's head. She wrapped her legs around the coconut shaped skull and started to stab it. Repeatedly.

The troll was flailing around in pain, roaring. In one last desperate attempt to live, it charged head first into the wall of the bathroom, slamming Rhode into it. Hard.

"Oof!" she grunted as she fell off from the blow, landing on her back, "Oh you bastard," she groaned and rolled onto her knees. Rhode saw its shadow loom over her, "Oh hell no!" She lunged just in time as the troll fell to the ground in a wet thud.

Rhode got up with a wince, "I think I broke something," she muttered and brushed her left ribs and released a sharp hiss of pain, "A rib, definitely broke a rib." She glared at the unmoving troll. She walked up to it and kicked its abused head, "_That_ was for my rib." The daughter of Poseidon spat and went to pick up her dagger. Gross, now she was going to have to dip it in boiling water. Sheathing her blade, she noticed the ice in the troll's shoulder had already melted into water. _I really need to figure out the ins and outs of that bit of my powers, _the young demigoddess thought to herself as she admired her brutal handiwork.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made her turn around. "Aw man." Rhode groaned, that fight no doubt got someone's attention downstairs, plus Granger probably found a teacher too. A moment later, Professor McGonagall came bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape (who was walking a little funny), with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the dead troll, gagged, and puked in a still working toilet as the blood began to pool.

Wimp.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking right at Rhode. The Professor's face was looking a rather interesting purple and her lips were white.

Rhode idly thought she wasn't going to get any house points for troll slaying tonight, "So, how's it going?" she casually asked. A mirror fell off the wall, shattering. Oops.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Snape gave Rhode a swift, piercing look. One she ignored. Rhode said, "What's it matter? It's dead. Problem solved." She shrugged, withholding a wince. She didn't want them knowing she was hurt.

"The problem is not _solved_, young lady," The head of Gryffindor house said sharply, "What were you doing here?"

"Granger was in the bathroom all day." Rhode started as the girl in question ran into the bathroom.

"Ms. Granger, I told you to head back to the tower." McGonagall said in a chiding tone, making Hermione wince.

"I-I wanted to see if Rhode was okay." The young witch said. Though she looked a little queasy at the dead troll.

"I'm fine," Rhode answered with finality, "So like I said, Granger was in here and I went to get her." she said.

"S-She's right, Professor McGonagall. I, um, wasn't f-feeling well and didn't know about the troll." Granger said in a shaken voice.

"Why didn't you get a professor?" the deputy headmistress asked Rhode.

"I'm an impulsive Gryffindor." Rhode rolled her eyes, "So I went to get her. Ran into the troll, I distracted it so Granger could get away. I killed it. The end."

"How?" Snape's cold voice drawled, "How did you kill it, Potter?" His hand waving over the troll's corpse, "Clearly you used no magic. So pray tell how you managed a feat that grown wizards find difficult?"

"Well, it's bleeding from various holes in its head. Two plus two equals?" Rhode asked mockingly with her usual attitude for the man, getting a curling frown from Snape.

"Enough," Professor McGonagall cut between them, she looked at Rhode. "Well, I still say you were lucky," the demigod bristled at that, "but not many first years could have killed a full-grown mountain troll. You've earned Gryffindor twenty points for your bravery. But I'll take five for the foolishness you displayed in fighting it in the first place, Ms. Evans. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this." Rhode just rolled her eyes, "If you're not hurt at all, you and your friend better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

The two girls hurried out of the chamber at that dismissal and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. Thankfully it didn't smell that bad anymore, actually scratch that, Rhode smelled like a toilet. At least she wasn't dripping wet. Thank you Poseidon.

"A-Are you okay?" Granger asked, breaking the silence with a sniffle. Still shaken over the event.

"I'll live." Rhode said with a pained smile, "I'm very durable."

Granger swallowed, rubbing her puffy eyes with her drenched sleeves, "Thank you. You saved me." Her voice was very tiny, mousey almost.

Rhode shrugged, "You're bossy and annoying." She bluntly told the girl, getting a bristled look in return, "But I wasn't going to just let you die because I don't like you." She said as they had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig snout," they both said and entered. The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up.

Lee had walked over to her, asking if she was okay. But Rhode waved it off, saying she handled it. She excused herself early from the festivities and the budding rumors of her troll slaying prowess.

Placing down her clothes to be cleaned, Rhode dipped into a warm late night bath. She winced and soon sighed as she entered the water. She went full submergence and felt her rib knitting together as the water reacted with her powers to heal. Her healing was always a weird sensation. The bruises on her stomach and back went from a blooming purple and blue to her normal tanned skin in moments as she enjoyed the foamy bubbles. She liked bubbles…even if it cemented Thalia's nickname for her.

As she rose her head out of the tub, letting it rest on the tub's headrest, she closed her eyes in thought.

Something was going on here, and it wasn't the magic. Or more accurately something was going on that was above and beyond the typical magical stuff. Rhode's demigod trouble senses were tingling.

And that was _never_ good.

* * *

><p><strong>Like brother like sister, the children of Poseidon rule the bathroom. Fear the flush, fear it!<strong>

**Yes, Ron was not there to help because Rhode wouldn't trust some mortal kid to help her in a fight, plain and simple. I mean, she's faced worst and would definitely not want to have to watch over two people in a fight for her life. **

**Yes, Rhode did not fly on the broom nor did she join the quidditch team very simply because she's a child of Poseidon. So Wood will most likely be crying until he graduates, never winning the cup. **

**As you can tell, unlike Harry who couldn't raise his feather during charms class, Rhode can because first off, her wand is different. Dragonheart string wands learn far quicker than pheonix feather ones. **

**But I have been told that this is one of the rare occasions where Hermione Granger was slapped in the face...to save her life! Rhode's awesome like that. **

**Sieg: Y'know...I really hate legalities. Considering Rhode's position if Dumb-as-a-door were to...disappear, the problem would be solved. Snape too. I have a recurring image of water freezing into a flower of spikes, with them inside it. I'm sure Rhode could pull it off, if not then there's daddy for that. Probably why I'm not involved in politics. **

**Indeed, that is why you are not in politics, Sieg. And thanks once more for the beta my friend. Snape is a jerk in general, but let's leave Dumbles alone for now, at least, until next chapter. Next time on Death Battl-oh, wait, wrong show. Well, best get your Phoenix's in Order people, because we are going to Wright a wrong! **

**Now, please review, no flames, and peace off!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.**

**The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey**

**Year One: I Deal With School Stuff  
><strong>

**Beta: Siegfried01**

* * *

><p>It was mid-December and the Christmas holidays were fast approaching, much to Rhode's relief. The mountains around the school were covered in several feet of snow and frost, sparkling brilliantly in the sun. The Black Lake had also frozen over, adding its own splendour to the beautiful landscape as it shone like a finely polished mirror in the sun. The amazing scenery, however, was not without its own costs; few owls had been able to brave the tumultuous clouds coating the sky to deliver the mail. The ones that make it through had to be tended to by that odd Hagrid fellow before they were able to fly again. All this meant that the morning delivery of mail by the owls, whilst still dramatic, was much less impressive than it had been when the weather was better. Not only were there far fewer owls each morning, but it was now not uncommon to see the odd owl arrive with bloodied feathers.<p>

Aside from the blossoming splendour of the landscape, other things remained as dreadfully dull as the eye of a cyclops. The only exception was when when she watched McGonagall punish the Weasley twins for bewitching snowballs to pelt the back of Quirrell's turban as he walked around. Rhode had never been more amused in all her time at Hogwarts, which while not as long as the other years was substantial enough to her. A rather clever use of magic, Rhode thought. And an extremely misleading one. They had later found out that the turban had been bewitched, not the snowballs, which explained how Quirrell couldn't remove them himself and McGonagall took so long to do so. If Rhode hadn't known better, she'd have thought the Weasley twins were sons of Hermes.

Despite the enchanting winter environment though, the demigods were not letting up on their training and were doing one more training session before the holidays came and holed up in the Room of Requirement. Their official little demigod clubhouse, er, the Batcave according to Lee.

Lee was grinning as he jumped, rolled, and dodged vines coming at him from Su. It was a little game he made up, one Rhode had to admit was very fun.

Su would try to catch them with her vines as they dodged around them. Not only would it help Su gain more control of her plant powers, but it would also help her against fast opponents. For Lee and Rhode, it helped them with their evasion, flexibility, and reflexes greatly by avoiding the onslaught of vines.

"Come on, Li, try!" Lee laughed, having a blast as he cartwheeled out of the way, showing off.

Rhode rolled her eyes as she held the stopwatch, it was going past the three minute mark. After she brought it up Lee immediately called time, still laughing like a loon, as she stopped at 3:47 minutes.

"Pretty good, Li," Lee said, though he was panting a bit with some sweat on his brow, he kept his voice steady and trying to play it cool, "Still a bit stationary, got to go for some free-style kiddo. Like me." He thumbed to himself.

Su pouted before a tiny smile came on her face.

There was a crack of a whip and Lee yelped, jumping two feet into the air. He turned around, rubbing his bum, to see a vine behind him, "Did you just-?!"

Su just gave him an innocent little smile.

Lee turned to Rhode, "I think you're corrupting her." He said with a pointed glare.

Rhode shrugged, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Su's got spunk, she just needs to bring it out."

Lee, rubbing his bum, said, "Whipping my bum is not spunk…that hurts!"

"Stop your whining," Rhode said and threw the stopwatch to Lee as she moved over to the open area. She nodded to Su, who nodded back and Lee started the clock.

Two vines shot at Rhode from behind and she dodged forward, only to duck under another one in front of her, she sidestepped left to avoid a lashing. Rhode quickly jumped over the one that tried to sweep her feet and rolled to the right to continue her evasion.

Su pursed her lips, sending three more vines at Rhode from the left and two from the right. She smiled when Rhode back pedaled and went to ensnare her feet, only for a flash of bronze to cut the vines. Rhode had taken out her trident.

"Hey, no weapons!" Lee protested.

"We never said we couldn't!" Rhode grinned as she swung around the trident rapidly and more shredded vines fell, useless and limp, onto the stone tiles.

Lee clicked his tongue, resting his chin in his free palm as he sat on the floor. They didn't…smart girl.

Su frowned as she made five vines coil together and whip at Rhode, who side stepped.

However, despite successfully cutting the vine, Rhode suddenly yelped in pain. She looked at her right leg and saw that she had a few thorns in embedded into her calf. Su capitalized on her distracted gaze and wrapped up Rhode's legs, making her fall. Lee stopping the clock as Rhode hit the floor.

"Ooh, only two minutes and forty two seconds." The son of Hermes shook his head as Rhode was freed, "Nice one, Li." He praised her sneaky maneuver.

Su bowed her head with a smile as Rhode pouted, wincing at her leg.

"Seriously, did not know you could fire thorns," the daughter of Poseidon grimaced, as she started pulling them out and tossing them to the stone floor.

"Plants can be very versatile," Su insisted as she brought Rhode a cup of water to heal.

Rhode thanked her as she dumped it on her punctured leg after pulling out all seven thorns. "Still, nice one, Su." The sea child praised, getting a blushing smile from her friend.

"It wasn't that big of a deal," the daughter of Demeter said bashfully.

"And she's so modest," Lee ruffled her hair, "Isn't that cute."

Su pouted cutely at him, patting at her hair in a vain attempt to smoothen it down again.

Rhode fell onto her back, "Still, this session was good. Got my aggravation out. Gods, that Snape was a jerk today. Again." She said as rolled to her side and held up her head on her palm and elbow, "I swear he's a monster."

Lee sighed, "No, he's not. I checked." He grumbled.

"…You tried to kill a teacher?" Su gasped.

"I thought he was a monster! But sadly, no. I tried scratching him with one of my knives, went right through him." The son of Hermes pouted, remembering when he was turning in his first potions project. Guy had the nerve to say it was mediocre at best! He was acing that class and the sourpuss head of Slytherin knew it! He just wasn't happy that a Gryffindor was smoking his snakes in his subject. The Jerk.

"Guy was rambling on about that Flamel you talked about." Rhode thought aloud.

"Speaking of Flamel," Lee grinned impishly, "I figured out what's stashed on the third floor."

"What?" Su asked eagerly, ever curious.

"See, Hagrid was at Gringotts the day it was robbed." The son of Hermes pointed out.

"So I was right!" Su smiled, making Lee roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway! He said that he had to run an errand for Dumbledore. But, he was tight lipped on it beyond that." If it was possible, Lee's smile grew larger, "He dropped the name Flamel earlier though, said he had to get an object from Gringotts, which was later robbed, and Flamel and Dumbledore are tight. What else could be there but the Philosopher Stone?"

"The what?" Rhode blinked.

"The Philosopher's Stone!" Lee said exuberantly, "That thing could turn any metal into gold and could make the Elixir of Life. You know, the liquid that could extend one's lifespan? It's just that powerful."

"Why in the world would he bring something like that here? In a school full of kids?" Rhode asked with a frown.

Lee shrugged, "Hogwarts is pretty well defended."

"Troll."

"…There are hiccups in every system." Lee added.

Rhode shook her head in disbelief. She turned her trident back to her spyglass and stood up, "I got a Charms paper to finish. See you guys later." She declared as she walked off to her common room.

"Bye Rhode." Su waved brightly, "See you on the train."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>As Rhode trekked across the castle back towards her dorm and the waiting Charms essay, she ruminated on her time in school so far particularly her issues with the school's attempts to discipline her. The earlier conversation about Snape had reminded her about it, as the jerk was the one who doled out most of her punishments.<p>

For the first month or so, Rhode had completely ignored the school's attempts to punish her. She didn't care one whit about the silly points they deducted for what they considered misbehaviour and when they gave her detentions she just didn't show up. When they lectured her about her need to obey the rules and take her punishments more seriously, she just tuned them out. She would have avoided these lectures too but she couldn't avoid the teachers wholesale. When she tried and they did eventually catch her, as they always did, the lectures were always worse than normal, so she'd just learned to take them to the chin.

This had gone on for some time until the teachers finally decided to take 'more drastic action'. So one day after classes had ended the Professor of her last class, McGonagall, made her stay back after class. She'd expected another lecture but instead the older witch had marched her up to the Headmaster's office to have a 'chat' with the old goat. Not that the Headmaster had anything new to say nor was he anymore willing to hear Rhode out. Oh sure, he pretended to want to hear what she had to say but in the end he just waved away all her reasons and concluded that her punishments stood. She really wished she could have stabbed his foot right then, or his face. Either or. Stupid fickle celestial bronze dagger, decided just which kinds of mortals it thought were 'important enough'. What's more, the old wizard had the gall to think up a new way to force Rhode to comply: he had Prefects escort her to her detentions.

At first, this wasn't too much of an issue as Rhode would just avoid all of them when time for her detentions came around. The Prefects not particularly enthused with doing yet another chore were more than willing to let her. But this unfortunately didn't last, as after a week of this new arrangement, the Prefects suddenly became a lot more invested in making sure she made it to detention.

When she asked them why, they angrily explained that the teachers in order to motivate them to do their new 'duty' were punishing _them _if she failed to show up. This made Rhode feel terrible. She didn't mind taking the blame for her own rebellion but she drew the line with getting innocent bystanders implicated for her stand against the system. That's not to say she went quietly though. No, instead she devised a workaround. With Lee's help, she got her hands on a copy of the roster of which Prefects were assigned to ensure her presence at detentions each particular day, her flouting of her earlier 'punishments' having translated into detention everyday now, and spotted those Prefects who were deserving of some punishments of their own i.e. bullies.

After all, a Perfect's badge didn't mean someone was an angel, many used it merely as an excuse to abuse their new authority. Sure most of these abuses were trivial and could be overlooked, but others were outright bullying. Rhode hated bullies and so, exploiting the detention nonsense to get back at them was her killing two birds with one stone. So on the days the bullying Prefects were assigned to escort her, she just evaded them. That way she got out of a pointless detention and got to serve some bullies their just desserts! It was glorious! That doing so was also pretty good evasion training was just an added bonus.

It all got a little tedious, but Rhode was determined to continue. After all, there was no way she'd stand idly by whilst a tyrannical system that punished innocent people and allowed for so much abuse by people like Snape and those 'Prefects' such as Hogwarts' punishment regime existed. She'd break it...like a Kit-Kat bar. It was with this amusing thought running through her mind that she arrived at the Fat Lady and the homework that awaited beyond.

* * *

><p>After cleaning up and finishing her paper, Rhode ended up heading to the Great Hall to chill out. She was supposed to be in potions class, but as was often the case she'd decided to skip it. Not as if the great bat would give a hoot either way, in fact, she figured she was doing them both a favor this way.<p>

On the way there she thought about the various Hogwarts teachers and she'd have to say they were kind of a mixed bag. McGonagall was disappointed in her, like Rhode cared. Snape was still a massive dick. Sprout was okay, but a bit dull, on the bright side she seemed to truly care for her students. Rhode was reminded of a mother hen, she even had the build down too, now all she needed was the feathers. The only one she liked was Flitwick. He usually got her writing lines during her detentions with him, but that was not all she did. They also talked about Charms class, since it was her favorite class. The tiny teacher would indulge her and her lines were often soon forgotten in favor of talking about the subject. And any time she had to deal with Filch, she would just leave him point blank the first opportunity she got. That guy was a creeper, she just knew it. That damn cat too.

Anyway, the Great Hall looked amazing. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

As she admired the decorations, she reflected on what had happened since Halloween. Since November, Granger had started to hang out with Rhode and Ron. The bookworm had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Rhode had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was nicer for it. Ron was thrilled, she helped greatly with their homework. But Rhode wasn't as psyched.

She and Granger were cut from very different cloth. Rhode was an ADHD rule breaking demigod. The muggleborn witch was a bookish know-it-all mortal. Rhode could tell the girl was honestly trying, but eventually their personalities were going to clash, hard. So Rhode wasn't fully invested in the friendship, but was willing to at least give the other girl a chance.

Still, why couldn't she be more like Su? The other demigoddess was never judgmental and bossy, just very supportive. Seriously, Su ruled. Except when it came to muggle homework, she was surprisingly stern on that one.

The Quidditch season had begun around November too. So, Rhode decided to watch the first game. Also, because Lee wouldn't quit pestering her to go as he was acting commentator. She had gotten nosebleed seats in the Quidditch pitch and a pair of binoculars. Rhode, Ron, and their new tagalong were joined by Neville, Seamus, and Dean.

They had painted a large banner that said Team Gryffindor on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. There was a story there, but Ron was apparently too embarrased by it to tell her and shushed his dorm-mates when they tried to do so. Rhode was determined to find out what it was though. Rhode and Dean, who were good at drawing, had drawn a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Granger had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors. Rhode had eagerly asked her to teach it to her.

The daughter of Poseidon had lost interest in the match sometime in and had instead spent her remaining time during the match chatting with Dean about drawing. It was nice to know someone who understood her passion. The match was over within a half an hour. Gryffindor lost to Slytherin, much to Ron's dismay. Rhode figured it was an okay game, but she was more of a soccer gal.

Shaking her head out of those thoughts, the demigod started to contemplate what kind of gifts to get her friends back at camp.

Well, Luke was easy. Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. Just seeing his reaction was going to be hilarious.

Grover was even easier. Some nice premium tin cans should get her a goaty smile from the sulking Satyr.

Annabeth, well, Rhode wanted to get her something special. With all the letters they've exchanged, maybe her own owl? Yeah! That would be a great idea. Plus, it would give Hedwig a break too.

The only question was what kind of owl. A barn owl? Maybe a snowy owl? Annabeth liked Hedwig after all.

It was then a hoot got her attention, making her jolt in surprise. She turned to her right, seeing a golden brown barn owl with sharp grey-blue eyes. It had a letter in its beak. It dropped it for Rhode to read. Confused, the daughter of Poseidon picked up the letter and began to read…it was from Annabeth.

Wait, what?!

_To Rhode,_

_Hi Rhode! Guess what? I got my own owl! He's name is Wright. I named him after Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect. See, I prayed to mommy one night, since Hedwig was always looking so tired after delivering the letters, and that's not good! So I woke up the next morning and there was this guy pecking at my window. Isn't he pretty? _

_You know how Pegasus has kids? Well, turns out my mommy's owl, Glaucus, has kids too! And she gave me one. Now we can talk way more, isn't it super-duper amazing?_

_Anyway, you're coming back soon, right? I can't wait! Luke can't either, but I think he's just trying to look cool about it, but he seems excited. We did Capture the Flag a few days ago, and Luke got the flag in like, record time! It was cool. _

_You missed the best snowball fight ever yesterday, too! Jack started it with Cabin Five, but everyone joined in. Even Chiron! Though Jack dumped snow down my jacket, the meanie! I'll get him back, eventually. _

_See you soon!_

_From the daughter of Athena and future architect, Annabeth Chase!_

Rhode put the letter down and looked at the owl.

The goddess of wisdom had totally jacked her Christmas gift idea!

…Point to you, Athena, point to you.

"Well, I'm sure Annabeth'll like some Chocolate frogs. Every kid loves chocolate." Rhode muttered, pouting. She gave the owl a dull glare as it pecked at her toast.

Stupid owl.

Stupider goddess.

* * *

><p>Rhode's cheek leaned against the foggy window aboard the Hogwarts Express. It was time to head back to camp for Christmas.<p>

Gods, she missed her friends.

Su was with her in the compartment along with Granger, who decided to join them uninvited. Neither demigoddess were in a mood to kick her out, they were going home! And so had let her stay. Ron was stuck at Hogwarts with his brothers since his parents and sister were visiting one of his older brothers out of the country.

Su and Granger were talking about classes and comparing houses. Granger was taking a keen interest on how Ravenclaw did things. Especially their libraries and Su answered the questions with ease.

Rhode heaved a sigh, drawing Granger's attention.

"What's the matter, Rhode?" she asked.

"Personal stuff."

"Want to talk about it?"

Rhode turned to her, giving Granger a look that said: No. This wasn't something she was ready to talk to even Su about, despite how close they had become, much less with Granger.

With that unwanted intrusion into her personal affairs settled, Rhode returned to her musings. She had asked Flitwick where her mother and stepfather were buried. It had been over a decade and she had yet to even see or lay flowers for them. Flitwick informed her they were buried in a place called Godric's Hollow. The town founded by one of the four founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor. There was a Floo connection to the place since it was a historical site. So, Rhode planned to go while at camp.

The daughter of Poseidon looked at the homework that Chiron assigned her. She had been doing some final touches on it. Thanks to Su she had managed to finish a good portion of it. Definitely a lot more than she would have if she had to do it all on her own. But after being distracted by her thoughts of the Potters, she had lost her focus. Sighing, she put the homework away.

Granger frowned and muttered something, but Rhode ignored it. The daughter of the sea started to hum Blue Orchid by White Stripes and some Yellowcard to help pass the time and bought some candy for Christmas from the trolley lady.

The train arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters within a few hours. Granger left with her parents, who the girl enthusiastically reminded her two companions were dentists. Su did the same with her father, after asking if Rhode could give her homework to Chiron. Rhode complied with her friend's wish. Lee left with his mum and step-dad. Which left Rhode alone as she made her way over to the Floo, ducking under the lip of the fireplace she sucked in a deep breath before hurling the Floo powder down, vanishing with a call of, "Camp Half-Blood!"

As soon as Rhode exited the Floo, she saw the camp and it was beautifully coated in a soft blanket of snow.

See, the camp had this ultimate magic climate control. Nothing got inside the borders unless Mr. D wanted it to. So seeing it as a winter wonderland was something of a surprise. Frost covered the strawberry fields and the volleyball pits. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods. There were bronze statues of reindeer connected to a sleigh. Gaige was arguing with her brothers about putting Gatling guns on the antlers and AA missiles on the sleigh.

Suddenly the daughter of Poseidon caught the blur of a missile in the form of a little girl.

"Rhode!" Annabeth cheered and Rhode caught her under the arms and spun around, getting Annabeth to giggle as Rhode came to a halt.

"Whoa! Bethy, almost nailed me there." She cracked a grin as Annabeth hugged her tightly around the neck.

"I missed you so much!" The little girl said with a bit of a lisp.

The daughter of Poseidon smiled and put Annabeth down. She was wearing a pink and white stripe ski cap, her nose and cheeks were red from the weather. She was bundled in a snow jacket and grey mittens. Her smile was wide and showed that she was missing a front tooth.

"Did you get taller?" Rhode asked the blonde with a teasing smile.

Annabeth stood straighter, her chin high. "I grew a whole inch!" She said with pride.

"No way?" Rhode mock awed. "Wow, you're going to be taller than me soon!"

Annabeth looked pleased at that.

"And what happen to your tooth?"

"Got hit in practice, came right out." The blonde beamed, "I got a Drachma under my pillow the next morning!"

"Lucky," Rhode pouted playfully. Rhode remembered when she got a loose tooth with Thalia around. She told the younger girl about the Tooth Fairy, but Rhode didn't believe her. Rhode had tried it when she was younger, but never got anything. Imagine her surprise when she did get a quarter after that tooth. Thalia told her the fairy's USA branch was far better than its UK counterpart. Rhode was so lost in the memory, she didn't even notice Luke until his voice jolted her out of it.

"Rhode," Luke smiled brightly. He was sporting some winter gear too, along with an orange scarf. He gave her a half-hug, one she returned, "Glad you're back."

"Glad to be back." Rhode smirked at him, her arm around Annabeth, who was smiling up at them.

* * *

><p>Annabeth was holding Rhode's hand, chattering like a chipmunk and asking how her term was. Rhode mentioned her detentions, making Annabeth scold her. Saying that it wasn't good to get them. Rhode just told her the teachers were meanies. Luke just gave her a hidden thumbs up, making the older demigoddess smirk a little as they went to the Big House.<p>

"Ah, Rhode, welcome back." Chiron smiled from his wheelchair. He was wearing a dark brown turtleneck with a red scarf. His beard was longer too. The trainer of heroes was sitting on the deck with the plump Mr. D, playing cards with two invisible players.

"And so the prodigal daughter returns." Mr. D drawled. His eyes were bloodshot as usual and was as cranky as a sobering addict, which he was. He was in his leopard print shirt and was sipping his infamous diet coke.

Rhode liked to think of him as the god of cola and whine. Heh, that was a good one.

"Chiron," Rhode nodded back kindly, "Mr. D." she said with little enthusiasm.

"Yes yes, blah blah." Mr. D waved off, "Now scat. I'm just about to win." The wine god said, showing his hand with a smug smirk.

Chiron gasped, "Oh my."

"Yes!"

"That is a very good hand…but mine is still sadly better." The centaur smiled, showing his own hand.

Mr. D gave Chiron a look, like he was going to vaporize him, but just grunted, "Pheh, I'm tired of playing." He stood up, "I'll be taking a nap before dinner." The god turned and walked into the Big House like a sore loser.

Chiron collected the cards and placed them back in their box. He turned to face the half-bloods, "Rhode, wonderful to see you again. How was your semester?" he asked as the campers each took a seat at the table.

Rhode shrugged, "Okay. Kinda tough, but I'm hanging on." She pulled out her homework with Su's, "Here you go…you dictator." She pouted.

"Of education? Most certainly." The centaur chortled well naturedly. "Lee usually sends his by owl, so I will grade them once I get his."

Rhode nodded and swallowed, "So, um, I was wondering if I could go somewhere today?"

Luke looked surprised as Annabeth tilted her head quizzically.

Chiron just raised a bushy eyebrow, "After having just got here? May I inquire where?"

Rhode nibbled her lip, "It's something that I want to get out of the way as quickly as possible, you know? It's a place called Godric's Hollow. My...mum and stepdad are buried there. I'd like to visit them, leave flowers. It's been over a decade." She told the trainer. Normally, Rhode would just go, but she respected Chiron. Just brushing him off like that wouldn't be cool.

Chiron made a humming sound, stroking his beard, "I wouldn't be opposed to this." He informed her, making Rhode release the breath she didn't even know she was holding. "Will you be going alone?"

Rhode looked at Annabeth and Luke, "I wouldn't mind some company." She said to her family.

"I'm in." Luke nodded.

"Me too!" Annabeth agreed instantly.

Rhode smiled prettily at that, but looked around. "Hey, where's goat boy? He's a part of this ragtag family too."

"I believe he is working at the stables." Chiron comment with pursed lips.

"Cool, I need to say hi to Flóga too." Rhode said, standing up.

Annabeth got out of her seat, "I'll go to Cabin Four, get some flowers." She said, eager to help, and dashed away.

Luke shook his head in amusement, "Always moving." He chuckled and pushed out his chair to stand up. He looked Rhode in the eyes and said, "You okay?"

No, she was going to see the graves of her mum and stepdad and was actually a little nervous. "Yeah, I'm fine." She told her friend. Luke nodded and said he'd check on Annabeth.

"Rhode," Chiron said, drawing her attention, "We do have the hearing coming up."

"Oh, right."

The centaur nodded and said, "Yes, it is set a little before New Year's. I will be preparing in the meantime. Your opinion, however, will be the most important."

"I'm picking here, no matter what." Rhode said firmly to Chiron, getting a quirked smile.

"Excellent to hear. Now go, fetch Grover, child."

Rhode nodded to Chiron and walked at a sedate pace to the stables and looked over the camp as she made her way. She could see Jack zipping around a snowball fight, waving his staff, giving more ammo to each side of a Cabin Five versus Cabin Six match. Cabin Seven were making some beautiful snow sculptures. Some of Hermes' kids were sneaking out of the camp store with candy loot up to their pointy ears. With the elfish looks they inherited from their dad they looked like a dead ringer for a Santa elf, though with their also inherited knack for trouble and thievery maybe it was safer to say that they were elves gone rogue. Cabin Four was trimming a large tree with lights and tinsel and colorful flowers. The infectious excitement filled Rhode as she smiled at the scenes.

Finally making it to the stables, Rhode could see Grover in a bulky brown jacket, shoveling out some horse droppings, complaining about why it had to be frozen.

Gross.

"Grover!" she called out, making him jump in the air. As uncoordinated as always, his cloven hoof landed in a pile of doo-doo as he regained his footing.

"Aw man." Grover cursed his luck. He turned and stepped out of the gunk, trying to smile, "Hey Rhode, welcome back."

"Yo. Clean off that hoof, you got protecting to do." The daughter of Poseidon said, stuffing her hands in Thalia's jacket pockets.

"Wha?"

Rhode nudged her head towards the campfire, "Me, Luke, and Bethy are going out into the mortal world. We need our goaty protector. So come on."

Grover snorted at that, "You need me to protect you? Okay." He rolled his eyes.

Rhode frowned and walked forward, taking his arm, "Hey, I'm going to see my mum's and stepdad's graves, okay? I want my family with me."

"Rhode, I-"

Rhode's glare cut him off, "If you say you aren't, I'll be pissed. You are a part of our group. Even if it was for only two weeks, you're one of us. So I say you're going. Got it?" she ordered sternly.

"Yes ma'am." Grover caved quickly with a visible gulp.

The daughter of Poseidon was all smiles, "Good. Clean up and meet us at the campfire." She said as she moved into the stables to spend some time with her pegasus friend, the fiery coated filly bouncing around at seeing her.

And asking for Christmas bagels.

Grover just shook his head. Rhode could be scary when she wanted to be.

* * *

><p>The group met before the campfire. Annabeth was holding a long and thin white cardboard box. Luke was with her, wearing a strangely respectful look. One that Rhode had never thought she'd ever see gracing his face. Grover was in jeans and his fake feet to pass as a mortal. Chiron waved them goodbye as they entered the Floo network and ended up in the back of a pub in Godric's Hollow.<p>

The wizard who was the owner greeted them warmly. Keeping her hat over her scar, Rhode went straight to business and asked for directions to the Potters' graves. The man happily pointed her to the church and even told them about the memorial at the Potters' ruined cottage. The cottage Rhode was born and raised at for the first year of her life.

The group exited the pub, seeing the village for the first time. It was a small community, which surrounded the village square with only a church, a post office, the pub, and a few retail shops. The residential streets were lined with quaint cottages, leading up to the church.

In the center of the square was a statue. At first glance, it seemed like an obelisk. But as the group got closer, it changed magically. Statues of James, Lily, and an infant Rhode, who looked contented in her mother's arms, were sitting on a bench and huddled together. The snow made it look like they had knit caps on their heads.

Rhode's jaw clenched and her hands dug deeper into her pockets.

She thought she would be upset, start to cry or something. But she only felt hollowness at seeing the statue and maybe some anger.

Annabeth, still holding the box, grabbed Rhode's arm, "Your mommy looks pretty." She said, looking up at the nice statues.

"Yeah." Was all Rhode said. She turned on the balls of her feet, heading for the cottage of the Potter family. And boy, had it seen better days.

The hedge had grown wild in the decade Rhode had been away from the ruin that was surrounded by the waist-high grass. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark ivy and snow, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart.

There was a memorial plaque next to the gate, written in gold cursive. Grover translated. The plaque explained that the cottage had been left in its ruined state and made invisible to Muggles, as a monument to the Potters and to Voldemort's downfall.

Rhode fingers traced the letters. There were numerous signatures on the sign, carved initials, little messages. After a moment, she drew her dagger and started carving.

"What are you making?" Luke asked, looking over her shoulder.

Rhode however stayed silent, her hand pressed against the sign as she dug deeper into the wood. She had changed the first "T" in Potter into a trident. On each tip, she put one letter. First "R", then "J", and finally "E".

She sheathed her dagger. "Let's go to the graves." Rhode said and marched ahead, a blank mask on her face.

"She's being really…quiet." Grover whispered to Luke as they followed her.

"She's trying to figure things out, Grover."

"I know, but I expected some, I don't know, tears?"

Luke's icy blue eyes cut to Rhode's back, "It's because she's not really sad." He said, adjusting his scarf. How was Rhode not freezing?

"Say what now?" Grover whispered with disbelief.

Luke pointed his gloved finger towards Rhode, "Unlike us, Rhode never got to know her mortal parent, Grover. Her first real family was...Thalia."

Grover made a noise in his throat, unsure of Luke's answer. They ended up at the small church with glowing stained glass windows. Rhode had gone in to ask the Reverend where the graves were. The kind old man led the group to a single grave covered in snow as it protruded from the ground.

"May God watch over you and enjoy a Merry Yule, children." The Reverend said as he bowed his head and left.

Rhode's green eyes were fixated on the grave, struggling to read its inscription: "_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._" The words jumped around Rhode's head, carving into it. Annabeth padded up to Rhode, holding out the box for her, "Thanks, Bethy."

"No problem." The little blonde smiled.

Rhode opened the box where two red roses rested neatly. Her fingers gently plucked out each flower and placed them in an "X" in front of the grave. She closed the box and gave it back to Annabeth. Rhode took a deep breath.

"Hey Mum, Dad, er, James…you know what? I'll just call you James." The daughter of Poseidon said, rubbing her hat covered hair, "Darn it, I don't even know what to say here..." Agitation riveted her voice.

What could Rhode even say? Hey people I don't even remember! How's being dead? Good? That's nice.

Yeah, real swell. It was kind of annoying to know they were practically strangers to the daughter of Poseidon.

"I've been good. Well, as good as a kid living on the streets can be I guess. I go by Evans now, Mum. Sorry, James. I…just can't be a Potter." Rhode said with an edge. She couldn't go back to being Rhode Potter.

Rhode Potter was nothing more than a weakling. A wallflower, a pushover, a slave to the Dursleys.

When Rhode ran away, that weak little girl died in her forever.

Long live Rhode Evans.

"I've got a new family now. So I'm not alone anymore." Rhode said softly, looking over her shoulder, smiling at them, pulling in Annabeth. She held the daughter of Athena in front of her, hands rested on the young girl's shoulders, "This is Annabeth. A daughter of Athena. I know, right? A child of Poseidon and Athena hanging out together? The world must be ending." She laughed softly, "She's a smart little cookie though, spunky too."

"Hello." Annabeth waved a little, "Nice to meet you." She blinked and looked up at Rhode, who was smiling softly down at her. The blonde's lips tugged upwards, "I like Rhode, she's really nice."

Rhode waved Luke over, giving him a half-hug, "This is Luke. He's a crafty dude."

"It's a gift." Luke smirked down at her, getting one back.

"And he's modest." Rhode chuckled, "He needs someone to save his butt from the fire though from time to time. Good thing he has Bethy and me."

"Yeah!" Annabeth nodded.

Luke pouted at that, giving the girls a mock glare. That just made their smiles grow.

"But he's one of my best friends nonetheless." Rhode continued and looked at Grover, "Get over here goat boy." Grover did so and Rhode put her hand on his shoulder, "This guy's Grover. He's my Protector. He got me to camp, my home. Our home." She said strongly, "He's a bit of a crybaby, but he's the best damn Satyr around."

"Rhode," Grover grumbled, his face red at her words.

"It's true." The daughter of Poseidon insisted and paused, collecting herself. "And…then there…was Thalia." Rhode said, her voice heavy with emotion, her chest feeling just as heavy. "Gods, where to begin with her? Well, I wouldn't be who I am today without that one." She took a breath, "I'm sure if you could've met her, you'd have liked her too." Her vivid green eyes started to leak against her will, "She helped me be strong. She taught me so much. She saved me from the stupid stuff I would do." She laughed, the tears falling freely, "She's my best friend, my sister, I just I-I love her so much."

Luke gained a sad look along with Annabeth, who squeezed her tiny mitten-clad hand in Rhode's bare one. The daughter of Poseidon squeezed lightly back in kind.

Rhode knelt down on one knee in front of the grave. She placed her bare hand on the cool stone. "A part of me wishes…I could have met you." Her tone hollowed out, as if all the emotion had drained out of her, "But, I don't even know you. I, I have to move forward with my new family. My past as a Potter, it's just a memory that I want to die."

Her entire posture suddenly changed as she continued. "And you know what? That's your fault! It was your fault, the both of you! I had to suffer all the bullshit! First, you get yourselves killed! Seriously!? Fighting in a war when you had a baby to take care of?" she demanded, the volume of her voice rising as her anger boiled over, "That's beyond stupid! And even if I was some unplanned surprise or whatever, why the hell didn't you flee the frickin country after I was born?! Was my safety unimportant to you?" she continued to rant as her tears grew angry, staining her face. Slowly solidifying into trickles of ice, sticking to her cheek, but it didn't bother her at all.

Around Rhode, her friends could only watch in stupefied awe even as kept going as she stood up. "And then you had the gall to trust my guardianship to Albus dumbass Dumbledore!? The idiot sent me to the Dursleys! Where I was treated like a frickin slave!" she stomped her foot, throwing a fit, one punctuated by the earth shaking slightly, as if in sympathy with her feelings, "Did you not know what those people were like? Or were you idiots?" her voice tightened, hoarse from her shouting as she trailed off, panting.

Catching her breath again, she continued with a sigh, "You know what? I don't care anymore. Like I said, the past is behind me and I don't want to look back. So, I'm sorry." She said half-heartedly, "Thank you, for what you've done. For what you've sacrificed. I promise I'll honor the chance you gave me. The chance to live. And I'll live it the best way I can. My way. Which you guys aren't a part of." The child of the sea said firmly, her lips formed into a thin line, roughly banishing her icy tears with her sleeve.

"This is probably the only time I'll come here. The past is the past, and I want to enter the next chapter of my life." Rhode reaffirmed.

Barely collecting herself, Rhode turned to her family.

"Let's go back home, guys." She said, giving them a tired look, her shoulders feeling just a little lighter.

The guys nodded and turned to walk away along with Rhode. Annabeth, however, lagged behind.

The daughter of Athena approached the grave and patted it, "I'll look out for Rhode, I promise."

"Annabeth, come on!"

Annabeth jumped, "Coming Luke!" she cried back and turned to the grave, "It was nice to meeting you." The young girl dashed after her family, once more taking Rhode's hand tightly in her little mitten clad one.

* * *

><p>It was December twenty second.<p>

The early morning cold nipped at the air. Rhode was dressed in just her pajama pants, boots, CHB tee-shirt, her beanie, and Thalia's jacket. The cold air not bothering her all that much as usual.

With hands deep in pockets, Rhode looked up at the pine tree that was her friend with broken sea glass eyes.

"Happy birthday, Thals…" She walked closer and rested her head against the cold rough bark. "I met my parents the other day. The mortal ones." Rhode added with a sad smile. "It was…I don't know, but it felt good to pay my respects and move on. I wish you could've gone with me."

The crunching of snow drew her attention and in her peripheral vision, she saw Luke wrapped up in a coat.

"Morning, Rhode."

"Hey, Luke. Heh, been a year now, huh?" Rhode said fondly since they first met in Charleston.

Luke gave her a sad smile, "Yeah, it has." He looked up the tree, his jaw was tight.

The two half-bloods basked in the silence as a wind swept by, swirling snow into the air.

"…How are you holding up?" Rhode asked the blond. They'd hardly had time to just talk alone.

Luke shrugged, "I'm doing good. Been training a lot and learning new skills."

Rhode frowned and turned to face him, "You know what I mean, Skywalker."

"No, I don't."

Rhode scowled, "Don't play dumb. I thought blonds hated that stereotype."

Luke turned to her, "I'm fine. But I could ask you the same question, Rhode."

The daughter of Poseidon grunted at that, turning to face the tree and avoid his eyes. "Your birthday's coming up."

"Yep." Luke nodded, seemingly thankful for the change of subject, "The first of January."

"New beginnings and all that."

"Pretty much."

"…You want anything?" Rhode asked him curiously.

Luke hummed, cocking his head to the side in thought, "Nah, I got what I need. Though I wouldn't be opposed to a pair of socks."

"Socks?" Rhode raised a brow in disbelief, a laugh escaping her lips.

"Hey," Luke said with a mock serious voice, pointing a finger at her, "First, not all of us can take the cold like you. Second, a pair of socks saved my life once."

"Riiight."

"They did!"

"Uh-huh." Rhode nodded, clearly humoring him. She laughed a little and turned around, walking down the hill. "See you at breakfast, Sock Boy."

"Ha-ha." Luke rolled his eyes as she left. He looked at the tree once more with saddened eyes. "Hey, Thalia…happy birthday." He whispered, "…I miss you."

* * *

><p>A few days before Christmas, Rhode had to go to Manhattan with Chiron and Argus, the head of security at the camp, for a medical exam. Argus looked like a typical blond surfer dude, with the exception that he has a hundred blue eyes all over his body. The trainer said had said that she had to get a legal medical file for the hearing.<p>

Christmas Eve was pretty good, everyone joined at the campfire, singing songs. Carols, the Hokey Pokey, the Macarena, etc. People were holding goblets of hot cocoa and their fingers were sticky from s'mores.

This was the loudest Christmas Rhode had ever had...and she was loving it. The fireballs around the camp would dance around and people were telling stories to one another.

It turned out to be Jack's birthday, so everyone sang for the boy. It was just that fun of a mood as the campfire was burning strong from the cheer.

Rhode gave Jack some birthday punches, just for his birthday's sake and for dumping snow down Annabeth's jacket.

The young blonde was pleased by this. Jack's bruised shoulder? Less so.

After a peaceful night of sleep, Christmas morning was upon the camp. Everyone was hanging out, exchanging presents and just chatting.

Rhode's little family was no exception. Luke was first to give Rhode her gift, a small plain cardboard box. Opening it, her eyes went wide, "How did you even get this?" she exclaimed looking over the digital camera. It was a Canon S110.

Luke winked, "I have my ways."

"No, seriously, how'd you get it?" Rhode asked once more.

"Secret."

"…Fine." The daughter of the sea pouted, but soon grinned, "Man, this thing rocks. Too bad that Hogwarts is like an anti-tech zone. But still, this'll be great for summer. Thanks, Luke." She said with a beaming smile as Luke returned it readily.

"Me next, me next!" Annabeth said in her Santa cap and gave her own small box. Rhode smiled and opened it, revealing A Word A Day calendar in ancient Greek. She gave Annabeth an amused look.

"Vocabulary is important." The daughter of wisdom nodded.

"I'll take your word for it," Rhode gave her a half-hug, "Still, thanks, Bethy."

Annabeth just looked up at her with a smile.

It was Grover's turn.

"I already did my gift." The satyr said.

"And that is?" Rhode ask curiously.

Grover gave her a deadpanned expression, "I've been cleaning up Flóga's 'presents'…they are not fun."

"…Thank you?"

"Darn right." Grover huffed.

To apologize, Rhode gave Grover his gift, getting a smile from him.

"Canned nuts!" he cheered, eating the whole can and ribbon in a few bites, getting aluminum flakes on his shirt.

Rhode next tossed a bag to Luke, who caught it. He read the label, Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, "Heh," the blond laughed, "That sounds cool." He said and opened it, Rhode suppressed a smile.

He grabbed a 'lime' flavored one and popped it in…in a second he spat it out, "Ugh!" he cried out, grabbing some snow and brushing his tongue with it, "What was that?" he asked Rhode.

"Hm, booger flavor, I guess."

Luke's eyes widened, "B-Booger?" he choked.

"When it says every flavor, it means every flavor." The daughter of Poseidon offered a teasing smile.

"…You are evil." The son of Hermes confirmed.

"Nah, but now you can test the rest on your cabin." She suggested with humor, getting a thoughtful look from Luke.

"Huh, I like that." The blond boy rubbed his chin.

"And next…" Rhode said and saw Annabeth looking at Rhode's last box, shaking it.

Rhode pulled the Santa cap that Annabeth was wearing for the occasion over her eyes, getting the blonde to whine as Luke snickered along with Grover.

"No peeking, Bethy." Rhode mock scolded as she took the box back.

"I wasn't peeking!"

"Uh-huh." Rhode said grabbing a box as Annabeth adjusted her hat to see. Her older friend presented the box to her a moment later. The child's face lit up and she ripped open the paper into shreds. The revealed box was a shoebox and when opened, they were small pentagram cases inside. "Chocolate…frogs?" Annabeth cocked her head to the right. "They're not real frogs, are they?" she said, giving Rhode a suspicious look.

"No, just shaped like them." Rhode said with a small knowing smile.

Annabeth hummed and took one of the cases and opened it, "Wow!" she said, "It looks just like one! Huh?" she blinked as the frog twitched and hopped right onto Annabeth's face, "Ah!" she squeaked and fell on her back and the frog started hopping away.

The plucky blonde blinked owlishly and got up, "No, come back froggy!" she said, chasing after it.

"Please tell me you are getting this?" Luke asked Rhode as Annabeth tripped, her snow covered face puffing up and she drew her dagger, declaring righteous war on the cocoa amphibian. Rhode turned on her new camera and went to movie mode, recording Annabeth give chase to the chocolate frog.

"Oh yeah."

"We're holding this over her for a while, aren't we?"

"Forever, Skywalker."

After a thirty second chase, Annabeth marched back with chocolate on her lips, "The enemy has been vanquished." Her grey eyes narrowed, "In my belly."

Rhode just took her picture, "Nice job, Bethy." She praised with a snicker. Annabeth sat next to her, looking at the other covered frogs.

"I'm going to have to open them in an enclosed space." The child said thoughtfully.

"There's that Athena wisdom." Grover laughed as Annabeth covered her box of 'villainous' chocolate.

The rest of the gifts were handed out. Luke got A Word A Day calendar, it was a two for one sale at the Camp Store. Luke gave Annabeth a book on buildings, which she gushed over. It came with stickers too. The blonds had also given cans to Grover.

"Why do I keep getting cans?"

Rhode raised a brow, "You don't want them?"

"I never said that." Grover declared and ate them in goaty bliss.

The group just hung out the rest of the morning until Atlanta said that Chiron was looking for Rhode.

* * *

><p>"I have to change my clothes?" Rhode asked Chiron as she was sitting in the Big House, discussing her custody hearing that was in two days.<p>

"Well, you certainly can't go looking like a hobo." Mr. D said, reading his wine magazine.

Rhode looked down at what she was wearing. A beaten up Green Day shirt, worn jeans, scuffed up sneakers, and Thalia's battered jacket. Adjusting the beanie on her head, her brow furrowed, not seeing what was wrong with her outfit.

"Thank you, Mr. D." Chiron said dryly.

"Anytime." The wine god nodded, turning a page.

Chiron cleared his throat, "Yes, well, I've asked Cabin Ten to assist with this." The centaur said, "Please head over there before the day ends."

"…Seriously?" Rhode asked.

"Yes."

"…Really?"

"Rhode," Chiron sighed, "Please, it will help with your situation."

Rhode gave a broody pout, "Fine." She said, "Might as well get this over with." Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she marched out of the Big House to meet her fate with the valor of the spartans of old.

"Brat." Mr. D scoffed when the door closed.

"Oh?" Chiron raised a bushy brow, "And if someone decided to take your exotic feline printed shirts?"

"…Shut up." Dionysus replied childishly, burying his face in his magazine.

Chiron's lip quirked upward, his beard twitching merrily.

* * *

><p>Rhode chewed her lip as she looked at the Aphrodite cabin.<p>

It had a painted roof, with pillars and a blue-and-white checkerboard deck with steps and gray walls. It was usually filled with beautiful girls with designer clothing and very good-looking boys. But since it was winter, it had less kids in it like most cabins. To Rhode, it looked like some Barbie House gone life-size with a pink door, lace curtains, and potted carnations by the windows.

She walked up the deck and rapped her knuckles against the door. As she waited, Rhode idly wondered whether or not the gods were trying to tell her something with the color. Satan lay inside, or something? It'd make sense considering their color scheme.

"Yes?" an angelic voice asked as an older girl opened the door, "Oh! You must be Rhode." She smiled glamorously. She looked like a model. Her hair was a silky golden blonde in a bouncy bob cut that reached her jawline, glimmering sapphire blue eyes, and her face was rounded with a cleft chin. She was in a CHB shirt and jeans, but made it look like something off a runway. She held out a well-manicured hand, "Emily Raines, co-head councilor of Cabin Ten." She introduced herself in a chipper attitude.

"Um, Rhode Evans." She said back and shook her hand, which was very soft, "Don't think we've met. Wait, co-head councilor?" the daughter of Poseidon blinked.

Emily nodded with a beaming smile, "I run the cabin with my twin, Ethan. Oh, how rude of me. Please, come in." she said, ushering Rhode in.

As soon as she entered, Rhode's nostrils burned of perfume, making her cough a bit. Rubbing her eyes, she saw the burning color of pink on the walls with white window trim. The curtains and beds were pastel blue and green. Each bed had a hope chest with names painted on them.

"Everyone," Emily said, "Say hello to Rhode." She instructed nicely.

"Hi Rhode." The few boys and girls chorused. The children of the love goddess were either chatting between themselves, reading magazines, or gushing over their Christmas gifts.

"This the one Chiron wanted us to do that makeover for?" An older boy asked, as he made his way over to the two girls by the door. He looked a lot like Emily. Same round face, same cleft chin, sharp sapphire blue eyes, but his golden blond hair was short and gelled up in a messy spiky fashion, but still looked good and gave off this cool guy vibe. Rhode figured him to be Ethan. She looked at his hands, he was holding a sketch pad and pencil.

The entire cabin perked up at the word 'Makeover', eyes locked onto the daughter of Poseidon. She had the distinct impression she had been dunked in fish guts and thrown to the sharks.

Emily clapped her hands once, "Yes she is. Rhode has to go to a legal matter, so we have to get her looking nice." She explained, "Think we can help?" She asked her siblings with her hands on her hips.

The cabin affirmed with nods all around.

Emily pumped her fist, "Let's get to work people!" she cheered, her younger siblings cheering in agreement.

Ethan just stayed quiet, drawing...something.

Rhode gulped, why were their eyes gleaming like that?

_Daddy, help! _Rhode cried in her mind as she was dragged towards her fashionable doom.

* * *

><p>It was a bit surreal for Rhode. The only person she ever talked fashion with was Thalia. They usually had to dress practical. Light, mobile, and something to allow them to blend into a crowd. Heck, they didn't really know about a lot of girly stuff in general. Make-up? Nope. Giggling at boys? Gross! Other girly stuff? No dice.<p>

The few guys in the cabin stayed out of the many girls' way. There was a pulley curtain attached to the ceiling so Rhode had privacy to change. Emily led the Crusade for the outfits. So far they had gone through about ten of them. It was either too cutesy, too girly, or just too pink for Rhode's tastes.

She had to get rid of her undershirt for most of the clothes and Emily gently asked if she started bra training. Rhode had honestly no idea what she was talking about, leading the female co-head of the cabin to give her a five minute talk about training bras since Rhode was 'developing'. She felt embarrassed about it, since she knew nothing about that type of thing. Emily told her that it was perfectly okay and got a few training bras from the camp store, which she worked at, in an assortment of colors for Rhode.

Rhode had to admit, Emily was very nice. She thought some of the Aphrodite kids would be snobby, since Thalia usually said that popular kids, which these kids seemed like, were like that. She had seen it when she went school in Britain too. But they were just nice, albeit good looking, kids like any other camper. Of course some gave off a snobbish vibe too. Still, she couldn't deny they knew their stuff, even if it was a little too...pink for her tastes.

Either way, that didn't stop Rhode from feeling grumpy as they treated her like a glorified Barbie doll.

Rhode's eye twitched as she looked into the body mirror at her latest outfit.

"I look like I came out of the forties!" Rhode complained. She was in a periwinkle dress. Periwinkle! It went to her knees and went well with the white stockings and nice black dress shoes she also wore. All of this was topped off by a black ribbon under the collar. She looked proper…too proper!

"Sixties." Ethan corrected from behind his sketch book.

"Whatever! Where's my golden ticket so I can go to the chocolate factory?" Rhode said with snark.

Emily broke out into giggles, making Rhode look at her, "Sorry, sorry." The pretty blonde stifled her amusement, "It's just, our dad runs a chocolate factory, so, its-!" she broke out into a new set of giggles.

Ethan sighed and got out of his bed, "Okay, I think you've had your fun, girls." He said in a bored tone.

"Fun?" The daughter of Poseidon frowned.

Ethan shook his head, "They're just going for cute things and such for you." He flipped his sketch pad over, showing a very detailed picture of Rhode in a fashionable outfit…that she didn't disapprove of. "You have your own tastes, tomboyish obviously. So you need to feel comfortable with that style, but we still need it to look fashionable."

Emily leaned in, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the sketch. She then stood erect, beaming at her brother, "As expected of my dearest twin. You know your stuff better than even us!"

"Huh?"

Emily twirled around to face the daughter of Poseidon, her right hand holding up her left elbow. Her left finger pointing up, "Ethan here wants to go into fashion and is brilliant at making outfits. When it comes to fashion, you can consider him a super son of Aphrodite!"

"Can you not call me something so lame sounding?" Ethan asked with an insufferable sigh.

"L-Lame?!" Emily looked shocked, perhaps a tad over dramatic in Rhode's opinion, "Brother, your words are like a dagger to my maiden heart!"

Ethan just gave her a solid blink.

Emily pouted and crossed her arms, "Pitee." She huffed.

Ethan rolled his eyes, "Samun."

"It's their own twin language." A son of Aphrodite whispered to Rhode, who thought the twins were just speaking gibberish. So twins had their own language? Weird.

The other Aphrodite kids were admiring the picture, nodding to one another. Ethan, in the meantime, went to a closet, there was more than one, and got out some clothes.

After a few minutes he came out with a pile of clothes and went to hand them. It was then one of his little sister's spoke up.

"Oh, um, I ripped that shirt by accident, Ethan." She meekly admitted.

Ethan's blue eyes cut to her, making the girl look down. The boy sighed, "Why didn't you say anything, Megan?"

"I forgot?"

Ethan just sighed again, "Where?"

"Left sleeve, under the forearm."

Ethan placed most of the clothes down. With the shirt in hand, he moved over to a cabinet, ran his finger up the drawers and pulled one open. Inside the drawer were spools of green thread in varying shades, each shade attached to a separate wheel. He scanned the sleeve over the numerous shades. He grabbed a sewing needle after finding the color and with a twitch of his pinkie, the thread came to life and looped itself in the needle's eye. His hand blurred as he fixed the hole in seconds, making it look like there was no damage to it in the first place. He walked over and handed it to Rhode, "Here you go, try these on." He instructed with a small smile.

Rhode gave a small nod, "Thanks." She said and changed.

Moments later, Rhode pulled away the curtain, getting many approving whispers.

She was in a pair of black capris that stopped at the middle of her shin. She donned stylish black boots with two gold buckles on the sides. They went up the rest of her leg where the capris stopped, but also had combat boot-like soles, excellent for running. Around her waist was a short black skirt. Normally, she'd not wear them, but with the capris on, she didn't have to worry it would reveal anything and it didn't restrict her leg movements. Holding it up was a black belt with a gold belt buckle with the word Prada on it. Finally, she had on a cowl-turtleneck sweater of a dark green shade, that seemed to make her eyes pop and worked with her short hair, even if it was streaked red in the bangs.

Rhode shifted over to the body mirror and was stunned for a moment, almost not recognizing herself.

Emily walked over and Rhode could see her smile in the mirror, "You look very pretty, Rhode."

The daughter of Poseidon mutely nodded. She kept staring at herself and had to say, she didn't dislike the outfit, it looked fashionable, but still felt functional to fight in and was to her tastes. This, at last, was something she'd be comfortable wearing.

Ethan walked over to her other side and said, "Normally I'd add a brooch and a necklace, but that kind of jewelry isn't to your taste I figured." He ran a hand through his hair. He scanned the pants she was wearing, "It's a size too big." He said and waved his hand, the pants shrunk and fit Rhode perfectly now. "There, hope you like it." He said and made way back to his bed, going back to his sketch book.

"Hope you like it." Emily mimicked her brother's tone, "Geez, trying to play it cool, huh, Ethan?"

"Shut up." The boy mumbled with irritation, but you could hear it was half-hearted at best.

Emily just giggled and was about tell Rhode something, but an argument cut her off. Rhode turned to see two younger kids, maybe around Annabeth's age, arguing over some candy.

Emily moved over to them, "Tammy, Chris, there's plenty of chocolate for everyone." She gently said.

"But I want that one!" Tammy whined.

"It's mine!" Chris said as Emily tried to resolve the situation peacefully.

Ethan on the other hand looked annoyed.

"Tammy, Chris, shut up and sit down." His voice carried weight, making Rhode think she should almost sit down too.

The two kids did as told with their hands in their laps, a glazed look in their eyes.

Ethan's annoyed look turned into a scowl, "Dammit." He said and reached out for his hope chest, pulling out some headphones and a CD player. Putting them on, he muted out the rest of the cabin as they whispered something about charmspeak.

"Well," Emily said with a forced smile, "Rhode, I hope you enjoy the outfit. You can keep it if you want or return it after you're done with it." She explained and gently led Rhode out, after giving back her old clothes.

"What was that about?" Rhode asked as they walked down the steps of the cabin.

Emily nibbled her lip, looking thoughtful, "Let's just say that Ethan has a rare gift from our mother and he's not very thrilled with it." She explained, "Good luck with your legal affair, Rhode. Best of luck." She said with a pleasant smile and skipped back into her cabin.

Rhode hefted the clothes in her arm and headed back to Cabin Three, wondering what she just had witnessed.

* * *

><p>The day had finally arrived, it was time for Rhode's custody hearing. Or more accurately the hearing where testimony was going to be given. According to Chiron, the whole thing was too complicated to be settled in one sitting of the court, but witnesses were only expected to testify today and the rest of the legal stuff would be settled between the court and the lawyers.<p>

Getting dressed in her new clothes, Rhode threw on Thalia's jacket and put on her beanie. She'd have to take them off for court of course, but taking them along, especially the jacket, was a small comfort that Thalia would be with her in a way.

Chiron was looking rather dapper. A tanned blazer, a silk white business shirt with gold cufflinks, a killer looking gold Rolex, and a satin red tie with a gold tie ring. His hair was pushed back and his beard was as epic as usual. And with his wheelchair, the fake legs wore matching pants to the blazer, he had a briefcase on his 'lap' and was set to go to court.

Annabeth and Luke saw them off as they entered the campfire and went to the Ministry of Magic in Great Britain.

As they exited the Floo Rhode looked around, trying her damndest to drink everything in. The wall the fireplace was connected to to was paneled in some kind of shiny polished dark wood and had a long row of gilded fireplaces connected to it, many of which, other people kept whooshing out of. Soaking everything in, Rhode noticed that the floor tiled with finely polished hardwood.

Above them the peacock-blue ceiling shone with inlaid golden symbols that continuously undulated, changing rapidly like some heavenly notice board. The wall opposite them was lined with more fireplaces in which a short queue of magicals were waiting in front of, each one looking to depart the hall.

"Not that impressive." Rhode scoffed under her breath, getting an amused look from Chiron.

"Oh, I agree. Olympus is far better."

Rhode blinked and looked at the trainer, "You know, I don't even know where it is. It moved due to Western Civilization, right?" she asked, having hears about the concept of the Heart of the West a few times at camp and how it meant the mythical sites of ancient Greece had moved to the US.

Western Civilization is the metaphysical force which moves with the flow of civilization. It's the pure essence of mankind's culture and connects together everything that constitutes humanity's collective spirit and civilization. Some in the know call it the flame, the force that moves with the center of human prosperity and influence, and was originally founded in Greece and soon made its merry way to the good old U.S. of A.

The Olympians are super tight with Western Civilization as they are both its source and its embodiment. Since the rise of Greece, when the gods resided on the actual Mount Olympus, their home bounces around to correspond with the epicenter of human society. This connection resulted in a profound effect on the gods and mortal civilization.

Should Western Civilization decline, the gods would be severely weakened, and if the Olympian order was overthrown, then human civilization would unravel at the seams, degenerating into chaos.

You know, just another Manic Monday.

Chiron gave a praising nod, "Indeed. Olympus actually floats above the Empire State Building on the six hundred floor."

"Whoa." Rhode blinked, "We're really close to it, huh?"

"Of course we'd be. It's always been this way." Chiron said as he pinned a bronze button to the lapel of his blazer, it had three gold letters on it, DYG. He then handed one to her.

"Uh, what's this?" Rhode asked, examining the pin before her eyes, turning it around between her fingers.

"Our cover," Chiron explained, "The Delphi Youth Group."

"…I thought the camp was the Delphi Strawberry Service?" Rhode asked, pinning the object onto her shirt.

"Oh, it is. But we different aliases to use at our discretion. Now is such a time." The centaur said as a voice drew his attention, cutting off their conversation.

"Mr. Brunner?" A man walking up to them asked. He was tall, easily six feet. He wore a black business suit. He had cropped blond hair with green eyes. Also, his accent was clearly not British like practically everyone else in the lobby.

"Yes." Chiron said, soon smiling, holding out his hand, "I take they sent you, mister?"

"Smith. Mr. Smith." Mr. Smith said and shook the offered hand, "Yes, the American MoM sent me as an observer for the hearing. After all, we just want what's in the best interest for Ms. Evans here. We can't have any miscarriage of justice for an American citizen."

"Huh?" Rhode said, since when did she become an American citizen? Last she checked, she snuck into the US, or was pushed overboard to be precise. She turned to Chiron, who had a twinkle in his eyes. Okay, it was official, Chiron was best pony. Ever.

"Shall we proceed on?" Mr. Smith asked. Chiron nodded as Rhode gave a smaller one and they headed through the lobby and saw a fountain. The fountain featured golden statues of a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and some other short...thing with floppy ears, all which spouted water from various locales into the pool of water below.

"We're currently on Level Eight, we have to head towards Level Two." Mr. Smith said as he fixed his blue tie.

They went to some kind of lift and went down further into the building. They made it to a hallway and proceed down it. Walking through a set of doors, Rhode looked around the large circular room. There were raised benches with witches and wizards on it. Some fat, some tall, others short, some had looks of curiosity and others looked mildly bored. The way the room looked, it felt like it was supposed to be intimidating to those participating in the proceedings, to make them feel like they were somehow the bad guys.

Rhode unconsciously rubbed the pearl under her shirt, trying to calm her nerves.

A few of the magicals stood out to her. A large portly man standing on a vast podium. A stern looking woman with a monocle. And some freaky toad looking thing. They let monsters in here? Well, at least her trident was in her pocket if she needed it.

Rhode glanced to the side where, behind a great wooden desk, sat the old goat Albus Dumbledore himself, dressed in his purple robes.

"Welcome." The portly man said. "I am Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. Please, take a seat." He gestured to the empty desk. "And greetings to our American friends." He said to Mr. Smith, who just inclined his head and walked to one of the observing chairs with a stoic look.

Rhode gave a snorting giggle at the man's name. Wow, someone must've been picked on in school.

Chiron and Rhode moved to the desk. Rhode took off Thalia's jacket and her beanie, hanging them on one of the chairs. Chiron placed his briefcase on the desk, his face giving away nothing. No wonder he keeps beating Mr. D at cards, that was one heck of a poker face.

The hearing soon began, Dumbledore declaring his argument against Rhode's current living arrangements and such. Chiron disputed his points, referring to how Dumbledore botched Rhode's first residence. They argued back and forth for a while, occasionally stopping to answer questions posed by members of the court.

Rhode? Well, she was having trouble not falling asleep so she just tuned most of it out.

Fudge's voice got her attention when he said they would start hearing the testimonies now.

Dumbledore asked to call upon his first witness. What was this? Law and Order?

"I would like Ms. Evans to take the stand, your honor." Dumbledore said, making Rhode look surprised. Say what now?! She sent Chiron a nervous look, but he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Just speak the truth, my dear." The centaur murmured under his breath.

"Right." Rhode grunted and stood up, walking over to the witness box. She sat down and Dumbledore was in front of her. She had to hold back her urge to punch him.

"Hello, Ms. Evans." He greeted.

"Ask what you want." She said gruffly, not in the mood to play nice. Some of the people whispered at that, but she could care less.

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded. "Let's start simple. Tell me, how are you faring thus far in Hogwarts?"

Rhode raised a brow, "Okay, I guess. It's a little hard, but I'm getting along."

"Would you say you have difficulties adjusting to wizarding culture?"

Rhode frowned, "It's…different I guess. I mean, it's not overly wow to me."

"And why not? Certainly a culture of magic holds intrigue for a child of your age." The silver haired man asked, getting a snort from Rhode.

"Yeah, not really. I mean, sure, flying on brooms and moving chess pieces, great." She spun her finger in the air, "To me, it's just there. In the background kind of thing. I don't really see what the big deal is about it."

Rapid whispers broke out at that. Geez, what were they? Gossiping school girls?

"Have you ever seen a Quidditch match before coming to Hogwarts?"

"Well, no, it wasn-" Rhode started, but Dumbledore cut her off.

"Have you not tried to interact with any traditions of the wizarding world?"

"No," Rhode blinked rapidly, "I don't se-"

"Do you know anything of your heritage?" Dumbledore pressed on, aggravating the daughter of Poseidon as she answered.

"I guess so." she cryptically answered.

Dumbledore frowned and added, "For reference, I am referring to your Potter heritage."

"Nope." Rhode said, popping the "P", "I'm not a Potter, I go by Evans now." She declared proudly.

Scandalized murmurs broke out, which added to the irritation of the daughter of Poseidon. Dumbledore's sad and pitying look was not improving her mood either.

"Rejecting your heritage, how foolish. How sad." He heaved a heavy sigh, looking even more old. If that was possible.

Before Rhode could even rebutt, Dumbledore said, "I am done with the witness for now." Rhode just shot him a seething look.

Standing up, Rhode marched to her seat, crossing her arms, sending a dirty look Dumbledore's way.

"I would like to call one of my prospective guardians, Arthur Weasley." The headmaster said as more whispers broke out.

To Rhode, some were ridicule, others amusement, and lastly distaste.

An older looking Ron who'd seen better days walked up to the stand in battered robes. He greeted the court and Dumbledore proceed to question him.

"Mr. Weasley, you are a family man, correct?"

Arthur gave a solid nod, "Without a doubt, sir."

Dumbledore smiled, "Tell us, how well would you care for young Rhode?"

The response really rattled Rhode's cage.

Arthur was all smiles, his words kind and thoughtful, "Oh, we'd treat her like one of our own. I know the Potter's had a long history, all old and noble families do. We'd do our very best to teach it all to her. And as for the rest? Well, it might take some time, but I'm sure she'd grow to love our culture. Hasn't done us wrong so far." He said.

Rhode's sea green eyes were a whirlpool of harsh emotions. She turned to have a hushed conversation with Chiron.

"The heck was that about?" she hissed. "The guy kept stopping me from answering and now this one just keeps spouting about things I don't give a damn about?" she gave a small gesture to the head of the Weasley clan.

"I know." Chiron said, but had that twinkle in his eye, "Do not distress, Rhode. In battle, opposition will always do something unlikely. One must remain calm and alert. The tide of battle can turn at any moment after all."

"…But we're in court." Rhode pointed out.

"The concept holds truth here nonetheless, my dear." Chiron answered as he listened to all that Dumbledore had to say. He'd admit, the mortal was decent at best, but he was no lawyer.

Mr. Weasley was just about to leave the stand when a cool voice called out from the stands, "And how, pray tell, would you finance the raising of the child, Weasley? Merlin knows you can barely scrape by as is."

Rhode looked up at the stands to see who spoke. He was a tall slender man. With his long pale blond hair, she almost mistook him for a woman. In fact, he looked like an older, and just as girly, version of Malfoy.

"Lucius." Mr. Weasley frowned, his eyes narrowed.

"He does raise a good point, Mr. Weasley," Fudge said, "Please answer the question."

Collecting himself, the ginger man said, "We'd be a little stretched taking care of another child, but we'll manage. We always have. What's more, Rhode's trust will be able to cover anything we can't."

"Oh?" the girly man raised a thin eyebrow, "Milking off a child now, Weasley?"

"You-!" Mr. Weasley said heatedly, but Dumbledore quickly intervened.

"Arthur," he said calmingly as he gestured for the man to return to his seat, "I am done with my witness." He claimed as Mr. Weasley went to sit.

Chiron wheeled forward with his war face on, "I would like to bring Ms. Evans back to the stand." he started off smoothly. Rhode obliged with the request and sat on the stand, "Hello, Rhode." He greeted kindly.

Rhode gave him a smile, "Hi, Chiron." It was a radical difference to how Dumbledore's questioning started. Something not unnoticed by those in the stands.

Hands folded on his fake lap, Chiron asked, "Tell me, Rhode, how do you feel on your current arrangement? With your current family?"

"I like it." Rhode said with a small smile.

"Can you elaborate?"

Rhode looked pensive for a moment, "I…For a long time, I never felt I belonged. When I ran away, I was always moving. Then…I met my friends." She looked at the jacket on her chair, her heart ached but she steeled herself, "Without them, I wouldn't be who I am now. Without them, I, I don't know what would have happened to me. But being with them right now…it's my greatest joy. I treasure them the most and I would never want to loss that treasure." She finished softly.

Chiron gained a small smile, "I see. That's wonderful to hear. Now, tell me, how do you feel about learning the traditions of your heritage?"

"It's a bit rough at first. I mean, while on my own, I learned...as much as I could about the basics...But at home, I'm exploring more of it, heh." A smile etched across her lips again, "It's fun."

Chiron looked to those in the stands, "Rhode and her friends had only recently come under my care." He explained, "And thus just learning the ropes of what I teach many of my wards. But they have made great progress, as I shall demonstrate." Turning back to Rhode, Chiron asked: "Rhode could you share with us some of the things you've learned about your traditions since you came under my care?"

Rhode caught on easily enough, it was pretty easy to see what he wanted her to say and what the court expected to hear. So she gave them what they wanted.

"Umm... I'm still pretty unclear about a lot of things, but here goes. Halloween is the day for Samhain," she started off from memory. Thank the gods for flash cards. "It was one of the biggest divination days, mainly using nuts and apples. It was the day Diviners would give their predictions for the coming year at sunset of the thirty first to the sunset of November first." Rhode detailed.

After a small breath, the daughter of Poseidon continued, "And how Yule corresponds with the old days of the Wild Hunt. It's the day where the power of fertility, prosperity and luck changing rituals are enhanced. So people do a lot of them. Especially this traditional one where they go out and hunt an animal to use as a sacrifice. If the hunt is good then the person's year will be good and if not it'll be bad. It's a form of old magic, a ritual based version of the luck potions we use today." She recited the details she'd memorized in preparation for today dutifully.

"Excellent. Thank you, Rhode." Chiron praised with a subtle wink.

Rhode smiled back, "No prob."

"Next, I would like to point out from one of my previous statements from the start of this hearing, how Mr. Dumbledore had already failed Rhode Evans once before with her home situation," Chiron's voice turned soft as his eyes looked into his student's, "I know, it may be difficult Rhode, but can you shed some light on the…conditions you endured?"

Rhode's face darkened and gave Chiron a small pleading look. She did not want to talk about that. She closed that off long ago. She bit her cheek at the soft understanding look Chiron gave her, but his hand gesture carried a weight that made her relent grudgingly.

Just one more time, just one more time and it's over. For good. Rhode repeated this in her head as her darkest memories crawled forth in her mind.

Rhode's voice started off soft, like a gently wave, "It…It was always dark. As long as I could remember, I lived in the cupboard under the stairs. It was padlocked as I got older." She said, getting a glazed look, lost in the memory, "I hated it. It was so tight, choking. Confining. Just suffocating. I would spend days and nights just screaming that "I don't want to be here, I want out. It's too small. Free, I want to be free." At first I did that out loud but after the first few beatings I learned to keep that kind of thinking in my head." She shuddered out as her hand fingered the pearl under her shirt in effort to stay collected, ignoring the people as she talked.

She jolted as a hand rested on her free hand that was gripping the stand, nails digging into the wood roughly. She looked to see Chiron's soft understanding eyes. Steeling her antsy nerves, Rhode continued, "I would have to pull my weight they always told me. First, they made me do the cleaning. Mainly after that pig they called their son." She spat out with venom, "As I grew, they just kept piling more for me to do. They treated me more like a servant than family." A bitter laugh slipped through her lips, "Yeah, looking back, they never considered me one. I was just a wallflower or something, never to standout."

Rhode felt small once more, so frail and helpless.

Weak.

The word echoed bitterly through her mind.

"I finally started school. They thought an education would be lost on some freak they said." Rhode grunted out, "I thought, maybe I could tell a teacher. Turns out teachers were worthless." The daughter of Poseidon said darkly, "Soon I was old enough to cook. I was terrible at it. I'd be punished for wasting ingredients and mocked for not knowing how to do things."

"That's enough child. You don't need to give us all the details." Chiron said comfortingly. "Just answer my next few questions with a yes or no and we'll be done. Is that alright?" Rhode gave a soft nod. "You mentioned cooking for them. Did you do other chores for them?"

"Yes."

"Did you get punished for failing to do them properly?"

"Yes."

"Did they beat you for that?"

"Yes."

"How much chores were you tasked with? A little detail here but only as much as you're comfortable with."

"All day. As long as I wasn't locked in the cupboard or at school I was expected to work."

"Did you try to get help?"

A dark look entered those sea green eyes, "Yes, but they called me a 'chronic liar', so nobody ever listened to me."

"I see. I think that's all I have to ask." Chiron said softly as he released Rhode's hand. Rhode stood up and stalked back to her chair. She grab Thalia's jacket and wrapped herself in it. Trying to keep calm.

Turning to see the aghast faces of the crowd, "As we see. Mr. Dumbledore selected rather poorly." Chiron said with a steely calm in his voice that was as sharp any sword.

Dumbledore indeed had a grimace play across his face, but it was gone quickly as Chiron called his next witness.

"Mr. Smith, if you would please." Chiron asked, getting a nod from the American. Striding forward with purposeful steps, the wizard sat down on in the witness box and nodded.

Chiron cleared his throat, "As in our own discussions, I must ask if you, and the American MoM authorities are satisfied with Rhode's current arrangement."

"Well, with what I have heard today. I most certainly say yes." The blond haired man stated.

"And as to why?" Chiron asked further, getting a small smile from Mr. Smith.

Folding his hands, the man continued, "From our inspections of the Delphi Youth Group's premises, the housing arrangement is suitable and is in fact a stellar environment for a child. As for school, Hogwarts is indeed an excellent school. Furthermore Mr. Brunner, your credentials as an educator are excellent. As such, we have no fear of Ms. Evans' education both muggle and magical wise. Her physical reports from the checkup at the hospital the DYG sent her to show that she is remarkably healthy both in body and mind. Add to all that the fact that you've already shown during the course of her testimony alone more care than all other parties that previously served as her guardians." Mr. Smith commented with a slight glance at Dumbledore, "We have also noted that the DYG has engaged a respected wealth management firm to manage Ms. Evans's inheritance. We are confident that with this arrangement in place, Ms. Evans will find her finances well taken care off. Thus as a whole, the American MoM is pleased."

"Thank you, Mr. Smith." The disguised centaur nodded as the American stepped down.

The hearing continued for a while longer, Rhode tuning it out until she Fudge begin to dismiss the court.

"That concludes this hearing." He said, "A verdict will be presented in the coming weeks. Dismissed."

Rhode frowned, somewhat upset that a verdict wasn't given immediately.

Mr. Smith came over to shake Rhode's hand and left, wishing her luck. Chiron wheeled over as the daughter of Poseidon, who put on her beanie, "Mortals came to the camp?" she asked with surprise. She hadn't heard anything about that.

Chiron nodded with an amused smile, "Yes, around October to check the camp. But naturally we couldn't have them see anything, so we used the Mist rather heavily on them and had them unconscious in the Big House for the duration of their inspection." The trainer paused, "Though Mr. D seemed to have one repeatedly walk into a wall for his own amusement." He mused.

"The Mist?" the scion of the sea blinked, before it dawned on her, "Oh, the veil thing ran by Hecate that keeps gods stuff on the down low." She said, getting a pleased look Chiron.

"Indeed." Chiron rubbed his beard, "That reminds me, I should check if you can manipulate it. Well, that's something we can save for the summer." He said to himself. He looked back at his charge, "Shall we head home, Rhode?"

The daughter of the sea gave him a small smile, "I'd like that a lot."

The returned to Level Eight and waited in line to exit the ministry. Returning to camp, Rhode took in the scent of the Long Island Sound, missing it. Annabeth had been waiting for her and greeted her warmly with a hug. Luke and Grover walked over to her at a more sedate pace, bundled up against the nipping elements as they gave their own greetings.

Those sparkling grey eyes looked up at her with that adorable smile and for that moment, Rhode felt her problems melt away.

"Let's go get some cocoa, guys. Warm us up." Rhode smiled at the young blonde.

"I hear that, my hooves are freezing." Grover shivered, getting an eye roll from Luke.

"I told you to get those warmers at the camp store."

"They're expensive!"

"Oh!" Annabeth bounced with excitement, "There's a snowball fight starting up later, wanna join in?" the daughter of Athena asked Rhode eagerly.

Rhode gave her a small smirk, "You going to be on my team?"

"Duh! Of course!"

"Well, then I think we'll win for sure." The daughter of Poseidon said, ruffling Annabeth's hair. She paused and glancing at the guys, "How about boys versus girls?"

"What?" Grover gulped as Luke looked intrigued.

"That sounds fun." The blond son of Hermes grinned.

"We'll whoop your butts!" Annabeth boldly declared, shaking her mitten clad fist.

Rhode teased the boys, sea green eyes swimming in mirth, "Oooh, she's calling you out guys."

"Can't have that now." Luke said with a twinkle in his own icy blue eyes.

Annabeth put on her game face, Grover was chattering from the cold, Luke had that smug grin on his face, and Rhode just felt a smile forming on her own.

Yeah, this was her home. Rhode was so glad she was here with her family.

* * *

><p>A day later, currently covered in snow after a rousing snowball fight with Jack and a smile on her face, Rhode went to the Big House to follow up with Chiron on a few things he wanted to discuss. As she approached, she saw that Chiron was waiting for her on the deck, a small assortment of snacks laid out on a table next to him. Spotting her, the centaur gestured to her to join him. Rhode dutifully obliged.<p>

"Good afternoon Rhode, enjoying your day?" Chiron asked pleasantly. "Care to join me for some snacks whilst we talk?"

"Yeah. It's been great. Sure. So watcha want to talk to me about?" Poseidon's daughter replied easily.

"Dumbledore." Chiron seriously.

"What!? Why on Earth would you want to talk to me about the old goat?" Rhode angrily shouted, her temper having spiked at the mere mention of the old Wizard.

"Because, Rhode, there are lessons you need to learn from talking about him." Chiron said gently.

"Lessons? What could I learn from him?" The demigoddess refuted defiantly. "How to be an idiot?"

"No, Rhode. There are many lessons that you can learn from Dumbledore's failings…" Chiron began.

However, Rhode cut him off. "Well, I don't see why I would want to."

"Because you'll have to deal with the man for years to come and understanding his motivations will help you in that regard." Chiron countered. "Understanding breeds acceptance, after all. Or at least tolerance." he said with that usual cultured wisdom that he was famous for.

Rhode looked ready to continue to argue, but Chiron continued before she could. "Just hear me out, please? If you are adamant on not wanting to hear this then just tune me out, but do try to give me a fair chance first if you will."

Rhode was sorely tempted to say no, but she respected her trainer too much for that, so instead reluctantly nodded.

"Thank you, Rhode." Chiron said as he began his analysis on the inner (frightful) workings of Albus Dumbledore. "First and foremost, Rhode, Dumbledore is a man. And with all men, there's good and evil within him." Rhode nodded along to this, the old Headmaster was evil alright! "He is a narcissistic control freak that seeks to manipulate all around him to serve his purposes. The fact that he went so far to gain control over you is proof of his controlling nature. Worst, his narcissism has grown into hubris as he's lived for decades in the adulation of the Wizarding World who claim he can do no wrong, to the point that he actually believes that to be true." Chiron analyzed intently.

"Wait, you got this after meeting the guy, what?, like, twice?" Rhode blinked.

"I've been around for a long time, Rhode." The centaur chuckled lightly before he continued, "Besides, a little research to shore up my first impressions was more than enough. Now where was I?" he scratched his most impressive bread, "Ah, yes! His manipulative nature." Chiron said as he returned to the topic on hand. "Besides the fact that a controlling person is often manipulative as well, Dumbledore has also left behind plenty of evidence of his machinations. Just a quick review of his voting patterns in the Wizard's parliament, the Wizengamot, is proof of that. He often skillfully manipulates his opponents into unknowingly supporting laws he supports. Outside of that, there are plenty of accounts by dissident formerly British wizards and witches about his attempts to manipulate them, even in regards to aspects of their private lives."

"Really? How come people in Britain don't know this then?" Rhode asked incredulously, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Such accounts are suppressed by the Ministry of Magic of course." Chiron said knowingly. "A natural result of Dumbledore's own influence within the body and their natural desire to suppress anything that besmirches their national hero."

"Huh." Rhode said uncertainly. "So he's just a bad guy? A wolf in sheep's clothing kinda guy?"

"No, Rhode. Remember how I said as a man there is both good and evil in Dumbledore? We've cleared the topics of his evil, but there's plenty of good in him too." Chiron said sagely.

Rhode gave a disbelieving look at this declaration, but held her tongue and let Chiron continue.

"All evidence suggests that Dumbledore despite his faults is good intentioned. Wherever possible he has always, without fail, championed the morally right cause. Sometimes to the point of naivety, such as his attempts to redeem even the most irredeemable criminals. He has repeatedly used the possibility of redemption as an argument to forgive even the most heinous crimes. Even worse, there is talk that at times he takes this so far that he prohibits his followers from using lethal force even in self-defense against opponents trying to kill them and thus leading to unnecessary deaths."

"So even when he's good, he's evil?" Rhode asked slowly, blinking a few times in confusion. Okay, this was getting a bit complicated now.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Chiron replied. "Of course, this is made worse because he sees himself as the leader of Wizarding Britain."

"How…" Rhode interrupted.

"Patience Rhode, I'm getting to that." Chiron chided gently. "You see leaders must sometimes makes difficult decisions. Decisions that cost their side a great deal but will ultimately yield even more benefits. Dumbledore has sadly internalized this. Combine this with his other personality traits and you have a recipe for disaster. His naivety means his goals are often unrealistic at best and utterly foolish or self-defeating at worst. His hubris means he won't accept criticism of said goals even if they're accurate. His controlling and manipulative nature means he'll be able to maneuver his people towards those goals regardless. Add in his acknowledgement of the need for sacrifice and you have good people sacrificed in the pursuit of the most ridiculous things."

"Wow!" Rhode said awed. "He's more of a screw-up than I ever imagined!"

"Perhaps." Chiron conceded. "However, you must also acknowledge that much of your resentment towards him stems not from his failings, but because he is for all intents and purposes your enemy."

"Enemy?" Rhode questioned.

"Does he not stand in the way of what you want? Your freedom?" Chiron asked rhetorically. "Then does that not make him your enemy?"

Rhode bobbed her head right and left, then finally nodded affirmatively.

"If he was not your enemy, would you have even seen his flaws? Likely not. Many grown men and women, both past and present did not. Him being your enemy made you predisposed to see his flaws, to see his bad sides, and thus allowing you to see things you would have otherwise overlooked." Chiron postulated.

"Maybe. But that doesn't change that Dumbledore is doing evil." Rhode retorted, poking the table for emphasis.

"True. I have never disputed that." Chiron admitted. "But I have also pointed out how he has also done plenty of good. That he is your enemy blinds you however to this fact."

"Yeah… But in the grand scheme of things…" Rhode began to argue, only to be interrupted by Chiron.

"Are you saying that you, an eleven year old, is in a position to judge him?" Chiron said as he looked at her seriously.

"No… But…" Rhode said as she struggled to defend herself.

"Rhode, I've said all I mean to say on this issue. Enjoy your snacks, I have an archery class I have to attend to now." Chiron said as he gestured to the untouched snacks on the table and turned to walk away.

"Chiron, wait!" Rhode shouted.

"Yes, child?" Chiron said as he turned around to face the child of the sea once more.

"You didn't tell me what you think about Dumbledore." Rhode said desperately. _Or what you think I should think about him_, was left unsaid. Because Rhode felt slightly confused now.

"I, Rhode? As I said, I think he is a man. No more, no less." Chiron answered. "But what truly matters is what you think about him and I can't answer that for you. You need to answer that for yourself. Just think on what I have told you." With that last few words of advice, Chiron departed.

Rhode frowned at that, propping an elbow on the table, resting her cheek in her open palm and looked down at the snacks. She reached out with her other hand and took a Skittle, popping it in her mouth. Annoying displeasure etched on her face with a knitted brow.

She was wondering what to even think right now. Sure, Chiron said Dumbledore wasn't all bad but by his own argument he was pretty horrible. But yet, Chiron didn't seem to want her to hate him. But what then? How else could she feel about someone who was her enemy? Sympathy? … Actually, after hearing all that she did feel just a tad bit sympathetic for the old man. He looked like someone who wasn't ready to be thrust into the job he had and was trying to do his best, but screwing up all the while. She couldn't help but feel sad for someone like that.

But as a whole? Her new sympathy was little more than a mote in comparison to the burning hatred deep in her heart for him. He was her enemy after all, and it was only natural to hate your enemies, right? Yes, that's it.

She hated him, he was her enemy, sympathy be damned!

* * *

><p>New Years went by fast at camp. Cabin Nine was amazing with the New Year's fireworks, they looked like they could rival if not surpass the show in New York City. Everyone was partying, even the grumpy Mr. D looked surprisingly festive, probably because it was a major party day.<p>

Soon Rhode was back at school and it was pretty uneventful besides learning some neat spells and sending letters to her friends.

_Dear Bethy,_

_I just touched down back at school. And I found this cloak as a present. It's all silvery and shiny and stuff…I think it's from that old goat. Dumbledork, not a satyr. I think it's laced with all kinds of magic, I'm not gonna use it until Chiron or one of the Hecate kids check it out though. Safer than sorry, right? _

_Your friend,_

_Rhode_

_P.S. Remember to keep practicing like we promised. Say hello Luke and Grover for me._

* * *

><p><em>Dear…huh, we've never given ourselves a name, have we? Well, hey guys!<em>

_Hope you guys are good, I know I am! But I'm sure you heard the news from Chiron, he just lettered me with Wright. One Rhode Jasmine Evans is a free gal! Whoo! _

_Man, you should have seen the look on Dumbledore's face! Never seen an old man pouty before. I even raised my goblet to him. I think it annoyed him or at least I hope so._

_I heard through the school's rumor mill that other idiots wanted to try their hand at becoming my guardians too. The minister's cronies, "former" Death Eaters (bad dudes), etc. But they were willing to let Dumbledore, with all his influence, give its try first. When he failed though, they just gave up. Probably thought it'd be a waste of time and money. _

_Smart call for a bunch of idiots._

_You know that Hermione chick I've mentioned once or twice? Ugh, that girl was all up in my face about the hearing. She just wanted to get all the details from me. You know I hate talking about it, well she just wouldn't let it go. I told her off good. She finally stopped hovering around me and said I was just some 'Brutish Yank'. _

_Cool, right? I'm considered a Yank now! But I was all whatever to her about it. _

_Chat later gang._

_P.S. Try to make a group name. I was thinking maybe Fantastic Four? You? _

* * *

><p><em>Sup Luke,<em>

_What do you mean that name is totally a Marvel rip-off?! It fits! You're the Human Torch, Bethy's the Invisible Woman or girl, I'm Mr. or rather Ms. Fantastic, and Grover is clearly the Thing. _

_So it's been a while after I sent that last letter, sorry. Detention. My life is a nightmare with those things. It doesn't help that they never leave me out of their sights now! Wish they'd go back to being dumb about it. _

_Anyway, I totally didn't deserve my last one. I mean, sure I set Malfoy's pants on fire with the fire-making charm I learned in Herbology. But that loser had it coming! He had been picking on that Longbottom kid, Neville. Shot him with a leg-locker curse. _

_Now you know, that I know, that you know, I hate bullies. So I take out my hate on the bullies here, all for the sake of balance. _

_Anyway, I keep telling the kid to stand up for himself since it's painful to watch. He reminds me of Grover with what little confidence he's got. Uh, don't tell Grover I said that. But if he did read that; I'm sorry Grov…I still love you, cloven hooves and all. _

_Going to train right now, letter you guys soon. Keep working on the name though. And tell Bethy we aren't making membership cards. _

_From the sassiest girl you know, _

_Rhode._

* * *

><p><em>Heya Grover,<em>

_It's finally getting warmer outside. Bet you're enjoying it. Gross part is that finals are coming around soon. This is why school sucks. That and homework, they should burn together in the deepest of pits. Su's been helpful on the studying front, be sure to tell Bethy for me. You how she worries about my studies. _

_Oh! I had heard from some older girls that you could swim in the Black Lake, and it is huge! Bigger than the camp's canoe lake, that's for sure. _

_I even made a new friend, he's a giant squid. It was tough picking out a name for him though. It came down to Lancelot or Bob. So I went with Bob. Short, sweet, and simple. I think he likes it. _

_Also, Lee let me in on a rumor. Did you know someone's killing unicorns?! The nerve! If I ever run into the dirty rotten jerk, I'll drown him! Seriously, who could kill such beautiful creatures? It's a crime against nature!_

_Anyway, before I get too pissed off, let's move on. While naming us the Green Party is good, since green is the best color in the history of ever, let's try to go for something else and less environmental, kay? _

_Tell the others my hellos, I got to go study some more. Ugh, Su is a slave driver!_

_Don't even get me started on all the muggle homework. Math is a crime against life itself!_

_From, _

_Rhode. _

* * *

><p><em>Hey Bethy!<em>

_Well, the April showers have finally ended and the May flowers are coming in rather nicely. Tell Grover that for me. Man, it is hot today. They should invest in some AC here. _

_So listen to this one, our grounds keeper's hut went up in flames! Dumbledork said it was a fireplace mishap, but word from the grapevine is that he was raising a dragon. What's up with that? Is everyone here nuts? Who raises a dragon?! Especially with innocent edible demigods around? The nerve! _

_Anyway, today is the day. _

_Finals._

_Maybe pray to your mom for me, because I think I'm going to need it._

_Anyway, with love,_

_Rhode._

"Phew," Rhode said, wiping her brow as she finished the last line. Folding the letter into an envelope, she handed it off to Hedwig, "Here you go, Hed, give it to Bethy." She said to her fluffy snow owl.

Hedwig gave an affirming hoot and grasped the letter in her beak. Her wings flapped and she was off.

"Rhode!" Su said, jogging up to her, "Come on, the tests are starting soon." She said.

Rhode grimaced, "Joy."

Su frowned at her, "You'll do wonderfully. We've been studying hard after all." That got a smile from the daughter of Poseidon.

Bless Su, bless her kind little heart. Without her helping Rhode, the daughter of Poseidon probably would have been nervous as heck for the coming tests today. And Lee too, she guessed. He pointed out to the girls what to study.

It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.

They had practical exams as well. Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Rhode went above that and got hers to breakdance. She earned extra points for that one.

McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox - points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. The daughter of Poseidon felt she did okay on that one, she let her artistic juices flow, earning her some extra credit and lost it due to her box having a tiny whisker. Even after pulling it off, Rhode didn't get those points back. McGonagall sucked.

Snape made mostly everyone, except Rhode, nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion. Rather ironic in her opinion. Good thing it was actually a class that she had went to or she'd have to try and claim she drank her potion, completely forgetting she made it. It was a sound backup plan in her mind.

Though, throughout the day, she had to ignore the stabbing pains in her forehead. They'd been bothering her a lot recently, making her mood foul. She kept getting that old nightmare and it annoyed her heavily.

Her very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about crazy old wizards who'd invented self stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Binns told them to put down their writing utensils and roll up their parchment, Rhode praised Olympus that it was finally over as everyone cheered.

* * *

><p>It was early in the afternoon now and Rhode slumped into her bed. What better way to end a day of exams then with a nap?<p>

In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have taken that nap.

_Black wisps filled the dark circular chamber. Slithering on gravel echoed as a large black shadow-like serpent flicked its tongue, hissing._

"_Yesss." A voice rasped out from the spectral reptile, "Clossse, ssso clossse." There was triumph laced in its words. _

_The snake coiled around a large body mirror, its head looking right into it with gleaming red eyes._

_Reflecting in the mirror was a stone of blood red, oozing with power._

"_Sssoon. I will live once more. Then all will be mine!" it pounced at the mirror, shattering it and the dream along with it._

Sea green eyes snapped open.

"Ah spume."

* * *

><p><strong>And that's chapter eight, special thanks to Sieg for another awesome job. <strong>

**I think this is my longest chapter to date for Rhode, but we had to go through a lot of important stuff. **

**As you can see, Rhode's rebellious nature is coming to a head. Willing to fight the points system!**

**Sieg: Well, look forward to when she get's older. E4E told me I could cut loose then.**

**The X-mas scene was a blast to do. That Annabeth part was something I have been dying to write for months since I first started planning this story.**

**Ethan and Emily Raines are a homage to my buddy Bonesboy15. Though as to why you may ask? Well, it's a secret! XP**

**I sped through the second term by using letters as a form of time skip. It was a interesting idea and I hoped you liked it. **

**We see how Rhode and Hermione are not friends. They were never going to be guys, they tried and it failed. Terribly. Hermione's overbearing need to know about the hearing pushed Rhode uncomfortably since it was a private matter, so her nosy nature backfired on her and Rhode broke things off. What happens to her later on you ask? Well, you'll just have to wait to see.**

**Rhode is quite angry with Lily and James. First off, you have to realize that Rhode has far less attachment to them compared to canon!Harry. Rhode has her dad (though they haven't met), Thalia, Luke, Annabeth, and Grover as her family. So she has no need like canon!Harry to desperately cling to their memory and that makes them legitimate targets for her displeasure instead of the venerated saints that his parents were to canon!Harry. Furthermore, her Fatal Flaw is Anger. This, added to her youth, means she is willing to lash with her anger at whatever had a hand in her suffering. And you can't deny that the Potters had a hand in creating the circumstances that left her at the Dursleys and thus the suffering she endured there. Now, some of you are thinking, that's irrational. The Potters didn't mean for any of that to happen. Well, anger and emotion in general isn't driven by the rational mind, is it? As a young demigod (who are not known to be all that rational) with major anger issues, that is coping with the loss of Thalia at the same time, is it any surprise that Rhode's acting her age and lashing out at the world around her?**

**Sieg: Oh..if only you'd let me, she'd do more than **_**lash out**_**. **

**The trial I hope was good, me and my friend Nameless2210 worked really hard on it. The proceedings are oversimplified but this story isn't a legal drama and the POV character was Rhode who wouldn't know or care about most of it so keeping it simple whilst keeping the most salient points (i.e. Rhode's preferences, the kind of things that the court would want to know when placing a child: their housing arrangements, finances, and for a Wizarding court their education in Wizarding traditions, etc.) was what we strived to do whilst alluding to the fact there were plenty of other procedures that took place that Rhode never even noticed. Hopefully we succeeded.**

**Now, onto the final part. Dumbles. Yes, it may look like it, but I am not bashing him. As Chiron explained; it is who he is. Dumbles is a good guy at heart, but because he's Rhode's enemy we get to see all his flaws a lot more clearly here then they were in canon because unlike canon!Harry, Rhode and thus us readers don't see him through a rose tinted lens. He thinks he is helping Rhode, but she, who is far more spirited and freewheeling, does not seeing him as a savior, but rather more of an annoyance and an obstacle. ALL of the points raised by Chiron about Dumbles's nature (i.e. that he is: a leader, a narcissist [only a narcissist would hold so many positions of power as he did at the start of canon and believe himself not acknowledge he is power hungry but doing it for the good of others like Dumbledore does], has succumbed to hubris [he acts like and presumably thinks that he can do no wrong], is a manipulative control freak [see how he manipulates everyone around to do what he wants, especially Harry], is naive [his redemption ideology as seen in Draco and Snape. Both were about to do or had done irreprehensible things but he tried to redeem them.]) are all pure canon. They only seem so much worse here because they are not seen in the best light like in canon, but a negative but slightly more objective light. If you disagree with this interpretation feel free to drop a PM and explain why. For now at least, it's what I'm sticking with in the story.**

**Sieg: Well...since Dumbles is an...**_**obstacle**_**, all obstacles that stand in the way of you must be removed, either by avoidance or through other, more **_**proactive,**_** methods. Honestly though, much of our chat between E4E and I during my edits of the court scene were: THE BLOOD OF HER ENEMIES SHALL STAIN HER BLADE AND PAINT THE GROUND RED! Now, aren't you all glad I don't get my way very often? **

**Phew, that was a toughy, but we got through it. Hope you enjoyed it guys. **

**In next chapter, we're gonna get stoned! XD**

**Sieg: F*** YES! DRUGS! **

**Or a good stoning. Love tossing some good ol' rocks.**

**Sieg: That works too. **

**Now, please review, no flames, and peace off!**


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